


Not My Day

by Mystic_Nin



Category: G.I. Joe: Sigma Six, Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Humor, Power Stones, Randomness, Spies, Work In Progress, battles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-07 20:38:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 43
Words: 78,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6823144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystic_Nin/pseuds/Mystic_Nin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Transformers (first movie) and G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 cross over. New Transformers are arriving on Earth, and they're finding new unexpected allies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pretty in Pink

Rocket glared at her motorbike. It was black last night, but now - it was pink.

'I'm so going to kill whoever did this!' She muttered to herself.

The bike seemed to glare back at her.

"Hey!" A voice yelled behind her, "what did you do to your ride?"

"That's what I should be asking you!" She snarled at the Dreadnok Torch who was standing behind her.

"Me? Why ask me?" He sounded surprise.

"You and your stupid gang of idiots did this! Didn't you? Just because I refused to join your stupid little gang of motorcycle thugs!" Rocket yelled at him.

"Don't go calling the Dreadnoks stupid!" He yelled back.

"Why? Does the truth hurt?" She put on a mock sympathetic voice.

Torch was just about to retort when a figure faded in out of thin air.

"Zartan! You just look at what your bunch of morons did to my bike!" Rocket yelled at the newcomer.

"No worries - just repaint it black again," he said in his Australian accent.

"No worries? No worries!" Spluttered Rocket, "how can you say no worries? I demand your Dreadnoks get punished!"

"No, they didn't do it - they were on a mission last night with me. Find some one else to be your scapegoat love."

"If they didn't, who did then?"

"Don't go looking at us," Torch said, "we weren't here to see anything."

"Check the security cameras Rocket," Zartan called over his shoulder as he walked away, Torch following behind.

Rocket gave her bike another glare before looking up to where the cameras were placed.

"Oh great!" She sighed.

The cameras were still broken from the last Sigma 6 attack.

She placed a hand sadly on her bike's petrol tank.

'Funny,' she thought to herself, 'the paint is completely dry - not even a bit clammy. And the finish is excellent. I wonder how whoever it was did it so well. If I didn't know better, I'd say this paint job was done over a period of time by professionals.'

She glanced at herself in the bike's review mirror, she'd have to change out her red and white Cobra uniform before she could start repainting her bike. Stormshadow would not appreciate his student with paint splotches on her uniform.

'Hi-tech is going to kill me,' Rocket thought suddenly, 'I wasn't supposed to let anything happen to his 'baby'! Don't tell me some body has found out who I really am? Is this a test to see if I'll go to the Sigma's to the bike checked out - to see if the paint was the only thing messed around with?'

The spy sighed slowly to herself, 'this day just can't get any worse!'

***

"Hey Duke!" Hi- tech yelled over his shoulder.

"What is it HT?" Duke asked, glancing over to Hi-tech's computer screen.

"Some more comets hit Earth last night - one landed close to where Rocket has been sending her communications," said Hi-tech as he punched some buttons on his key-board to bring up a map with flashing red dots on it in places.

"Do you want us to check the comet out Duke?" Asked Scarlett from where she was working.

"Why not," mused Duke, "it'll give us a chance to see how Rocket is doing."

"Okay, I'll set a course for the Sea Titan to follow - we ought to get there in few hours," Hi-tech said, busying himself with the task.

"What about the other comets old chap?" Lieutenant Stone asked behind Duke.

"Send the ninja team - I see a few of the comets have landed near where they are tracking down Stormshadow," Duke said, after consulting the map.

"Isn't Rocket supposed to be training with Stomshadow?" Asked Scarlett.

"She is, but she also is supposed to be doing Cobra's propaganda work - so she can't always be with her 'sensei', you see", responded Stone.

"Well, let's just hope that comet near her didn't land on my latest masterpiece!" Said Hi-tech, dreaming of his motorbike.

It was a better model than the Ninja Bike, more streamlined, more powerful - basically more everything than the Ninja Bike was.

And then, he had lent it to Rocket - deciding she might need it to get away from Cobra if she was in a hurry.

'She had better been looking after it!' Hi-tech thought to himself.

***

Firefly stepped out of his Cobra Stealth Cruiser and glanced around the hanger bay where the vehicles and aircraft were stored. His gaze rested on a sleek pink motorbike.

"Well, well - pretty in pink," he commented before heading off to give his report to Cobra Commander.

'At least someone thinks so!' Arcee thought to herself.

TBC…


	2. Where's Arcee

'There has got to be a better way of doing this!' Hot Shot thought to himself as he pulled himself out the crater he had created on impact.

In front of him, Red Alert, Prowl and Landmine were pulling themselves out of similar craters.

"I feel like Starscream decided to tap-dance on me!" He said to the other two, trying out the Earth language Optimus Prime had been streaming in signal waves to them in space.

"Ah, I see you received our broadcasts then?" Stated a voice behind him.

Hot Shot turned to see Optimus, Ironhide, Ratchet and Bumblebee standing there. He also noted some organic creatures standing by Bumblebee's foot.

"Don't move now Bumblebee!" Hissed Hot Shot slowly taking out his weapon, "but there are some parasites trying to attach themselves to you!"

Bumblebee glanced down at his foot - he couldn't see any parasites, what was Hot Shot talking about? Unless, he meant Sam and Mikaela…

Hot Shot lined his weapon up on the parasites, about to fire when he got tackled by Bumblebee.

"What are you doing?" Hot Shot yelled trying to fend off Bumblebee.

Optimus sighed to himself and went to lift Bumblebee off Hot Shot.

"Hot Shot," he said holding Bee by his neck, "those aren't parasites - they're humans, and we don't attack humans!"

"Oh…," Hot Shot took a closer look at the humans - who backed away hurriedly from him, "sorry about the parasite comment."

"That's all right," a human with long hair replied, "just don't kill us please!"

Hot Shot glanced at his weapon, "right," and put it away quickly.

"Now Bumblebee, apologise to Hot Shot for attacking him," Optimus said sternly to Bee.

He let go of Bee's neck and pushed him towards Hot Shot.

Bumblebee shuffled his feet slightly and muttered to Hot Shot, "I'm sorry for tackling you when you were about to kill the humans."

"Bumblebee!" Warned Optimus, "apologise properly now!"

"Fine! Sorry Hot Shot, I shouldn't have attacked you when you didn't know about humans," Bumblebee said.

"Good," said Optimus, "now your turn Hot Shot - apologise to the humans for trying to kill them."

"But," protested Hot Shot, "I've already apologised to them!"

"For calling them parasites, but not for attempted murder," rumbled Ironhide. He would've tackled Hot Shot if Bee hadn't beaten to it. If he had to tell Will's wife that he let a fellow Autobot kill her husband - he wouldn't be able to do it.

"Okay - sorry for trying to kill you," Hot Shot mumbled to the three humans hiding behind Ratchet's leg.

"This is Sam, Mikaela and Will," Ratchet introduced them by pulling each one out from behind his leg as he said their name.

"Now that we have got that sorted out," Optimus said - turning to the three forgotten Autobots standing by their crater holes, "welcome to Earth, your new home."

"We've taken the liberty of choosing a few designs for your alternate modes," Ratchet said, "we would've broadcast them to you as well but the humans were complaining about us using up their remaining satellites' bandwidth. Starscream destroyed a few of the satellites, so until the human's build more - they have to take turns to use the satellites."

Bumblebee moved forward and motioned to Prowl to come closer.

"We decided on a police car for you Prowl," said Optimus, "but you can choose the make and markings yourself."

Bumblebee began projecting different holograms of police cars, pausing briefly on each one for Prowl to choose between.

"Stop!" Prowl called out, "no - not that one, go back one picture, yes that's it"

Prowl began to scan his selected hologram and transformed into a police car with black and white markings.

"Whoa!" Said Sam, "you look almost like Barricade!"

"I do?" Asked Prowl, perplexed.

"Don't worry about it," said Prime.

Prowl reversed back and allowed Red Alert to take his place.

"Now for you Red Alert," said Optimus, "we left your choices with Ratchet."

"I decided on a rescue vehicle like myself - but not the same to avoid confusion," explained Ratchet as Bee began projecting the holograms.

Red Alert soon was transformed into a red and blue mountain rescue truck. He went to park next to Prowl.

Now it was Hot Shot's turn.

"For you - the decision was sports cars. Not the same one as Bumblebee as course," Optimus said to Hot Shot as he took his place by Bee and began studying the holograms.

After a while, Hot Shot decided on a Mazda RX8.

Landmine soon took the form of a construction vehicle.

"Lastly - for Arcee we decided… Wait where is Arcee?" Optimus asked, suddenly realising the landing party was missing a person.

"Oh right!" Hot Shot transformed and hit his head with his hand, "she had to change her course to miss the moon and got separated from us. I meant to tell you but forgot when Bumblebee tackled me."

Prowl, Landmine and Red Alert manage to look sheepish in their vehicle modes and were muttering about how they got distracted and forgot about Arcee.

Optimus looked a mixture of anger and worry, "this is bad - if she has landed in area with no vehicles to scan and gets spotted by humans…"

Ratchet began scanning the internet for information that could lead to Arcee's whereabouts.

"Why are you so concerned about her being spotted?" Asked Landmine, "what about these humans here?"

"These humans are different," explained Ironhide, "they helped us with the Allspark, and the government wants to ease the rest of humanity gently into the fact that giant alien robots are walking around on Earth. The government is worried it might start a panic."

"I can't find anything on the normal Internet level Optimus," called out Ratchet, "it doesn't seem like any humans spotted her. Should I search restricted and secured sites?"

"Yes," Optimus said, "if the human government complain later on - we'll explain it was a matter of utmost importance."

Ratchet began hacking.

***

"What the?" Yelled Hi-tech at his computer.

"What is it now HT?" Asked Duke.

"Some body is trying hack into the system, they're good but not as good as me!" Hi-tech replied as he typed away - trying to block out the hacker.

"Oh wait," he suddenly said dryly, "they were better."

"What!" It was Duke's turn to yell, "but you are the best! Do you know what they were after?"

"Yes," Hi-tech said, "they were getting the co-ordinates of the comet that landed by Rocket."

"Do you think it contains a power stone?" Asked Scarlett.

"I wouldn't be suprised," replied Hi-tech, "it wouldn't be the first time."

"Well, we are heading there now - so we'll find out when we get there, but contact Snake Eyes and tell him I've changed my mind. I want the ninja team to rendezvous with us at that comet!" Said Duke.

Scarlett was about to contact Snake Eyes when his student Kamakura appeared in a vid-screen on her monitor.

"You are not going to believe this!" He exclaimed.

"What Kamakura?" Ask Duke.

"The comet craters were completely empty!" He paused for dramatic effect.

There was a moments silence, "and?" Asked Scarlett.

"What he means to say was there wasn't even debris lying around," another face appeared on Scarlett's monitor. That of Jinx - Snake Eye's second student.

"I still fail to see how this is suppose to amaze us?" said Duke.

"Okay - how about this, there are four sets of tire tracks leading to the holes," Jinx began.

"There is your mystery solved, whoever got there before took away some souvenirs with them," Hi-tech said.

"Well you just wait till I'm finished?" Jinx snapped at Hi-tech.

"Sheesh sorry," apologised Hi-tech.

"Any way - four sets to the holes and, eight sets away!" Jinx concluded, looking smug."

"Are you sure you just double count?" Asked Duke

"Hello! Ninjas here - we can track you know!" Jinx yelled.

"And sensei agrees with us!" Added Kamakura.

A third face appeared on the monitor - completely masked - completely Snake Eyes.

He gave a small nod to indicate he agreed with his students.

"All right," conceded Duke, "you have mysterious tire tracks".

"That's not all," said Kamakura, "there are these giant foot prints on the ground - kind of like giant alien robot size!"

"Right - giant alien robots," said Hi-tech sarcastically.

"You guys ever stop to think it might be one of Overkill's robots?" Asked Scarlett.

"Um…"

Even Snake Eyes behind his mask managed to look a little sheepish.

"That's enough of mysteries," said Duke, "Snakes Eyes, Hi-tech is sending you the co-ordinates of another comet. Meet us there. We have just had our computer system hacked and some one was looking for those co-ordinates. We think the comet may contain another power stone."

Snake Eyes gave another quick nod and all three ninjas disappeared from the monitor's screen.

'What a day,' Duke thought to himself, 'I just hope it doesn't continue like this!'

***

Arcee glared at the human approaching her and carrying a tin of black paint.

'This isn't going to be my day is it!' she thought to herself sadly.

TBC...


	3. Don't Paint Me Black!

Arcee contemplated how she got into her situation. It had started out all right until someone decided to place a huge rock in her way. The others were far away enough to dodge the moon but she had to alter her course's direction, and so got spilt up from the others.

She had crashed into a desolate rocky mountain, with no near by vehicles to scan. Her only option was to travel towards some bright lights in the distance. It took her protoform body an hour to reach the source of the lights.

Arcee discovered a large and surprisingly unguarded building. It was the Cobra hanger. The doors were wide open, but Arcee wasn't to know that it was because the doors were yet something else that was not fixed after the last Sigma attack.

She quietly slipped in – scanning for any life forms. The only signs of life she could pick up were far enough for her to continue sneaking around.

Arcee looked around the hanger, spotting different types of transport vehicles. None were right for her until she saw a sleek black motorbike standing innocently in a corner.

'Perfect!' She thought as she began scanning the bike.

Her senses suddenly alerted her to the fact a life form was approaching.

In her haste to get out she didn't see the spilt oil patch on the floor.

She slipped – stepped back to regain her balance – and crushed the so recently scanned bike.

"Oh slag!" Arcee hissed, as her senses told her the life form had pick up speed.

No doubt to investigate the crunching noise it had heard.

In a blind panic and with out thinking, Arcee picked up the mangled remains of the motorbike and threw them as far as she could towards the mountain she crashed into. The wreckage disappeared from view. With minutes to spare – she transformed into the bike and took its place.

Hoping no one would notice the major change in colour…

A small door inside the hanger opened and a lone Cobra Trooper poked his head in.

It was dark and he couldn't see anything – for all he knew all the Sigma's were hiding in the shadows.

"They don't pay me enough for this job!" He muttered, unwilling to possible face up against the Sigmas.

Life was hard when you were a henchman.

Deciding to pretend he heard nothing, the Trooper left.

This left Arcee thinking of what to do next. She didn't know anything about Earth or were the Optimus was. She didn't know where to go.

'Well,' she thought, 'Optimus knows Earth better than me, and since he chose a planet with a slagging moon - he can come find me!'

She wondered what to do about the destroyed bike.

'If I leave and the bike is discovered missing – it could lead to complications, and I ought to stay near where I landed to help the others locate me,' Arcee mused to herself, 'and I suppose that I owe whoever's vehicle that was my services until they get a new mode of transport.'

Deciding to stay Arcee slipped into recharge – and got woken up a few hours later by angry scream of, "what the hell?" From Rocket.

A few hours had passed since then. The human called Rocket had left to find some black paint and Arcee was left to amuse herself.

She couldn't leave as a lot more Troopers were walking around during the day than there were during the night.

Arcee, feeling bored, had discovered the bike she had scanned was extremely advance for human technology… It even had wireless Internet.

Something Arcee had managed to keep when she had scanned the bike. Curious to find out what this 'Cobra Organisation' was - Arcee decided to research it online.

What she found – she didn't like.

'International terrorist organisation! What am I going to do? If they find out… what would they do?' She groaned to herself.

It was then that she noticed Rocket returning.

Arcee glared at the human approaching her and carrying a tin of black paint.

'This isn't going to be my day is it!' she thought to herself sadly.

The Troopers were leaving the hanger – it seemed they were going to do some practise drills outside.

This left just Arcee and Rocket alone in the hanger.

Arcee glared at the paint Rocket was carrying, 'I can't let her paint me black! That's a Decepticon colour!'

She had no choice, she had to talk to the human… it was either that or running Rocket over. And Arcee thought Optimus would be happier with the lesser of the two evils.

"Don't paint me black!" Arcee yelled.

Rocket dropped the can of paint and jumped backwards.

Rocket stared at the bike in shock for a few minutes.

Arcee was wondering when the screaming or otherwise - the questions were going to start, when Rocket did something strange. She started chuckling.

"Good one Zartan!" She called to the empty space behind Arcee, " almost had me fooled there. Now stop playing around and show yourself!"

Arcee was about to retort angrily that she wasn't Zartan, when some one above spoke first.

"Vat do you think you are doing?" The Baroness asked in her European accent.

She was standing on the platform that ran around the walls of the hanger. Her arms resting on the guard rail – looking down at Rocket.

"I'm talking to Zartan, that's what I'm doing," Rocket called back up to the Baroness.

"Dat is impossible, Zartan is not even here. Cobra Commander has sent him off on a mission to infiltrate the Sigmas," Baroness crossed her arms and smirked down at Rocket.

"Then who just spoke?" Asked Rocket.

"If you are hearing voices I suggest you best see a doctor, but enough of this silly conversation. Stormshadow is back, he wants to see you," replied the Baroness.

"Not like you to take messages," said Rocket.

"I vasn't going to, but I heard your voice as I walked past," with a flick of her hair, the Baroness exited the hanger.

Rocket looked down at 'her' pink bike.

"Looks like the painting will have to wait," she sighed.

Rocket turned and walked out of the hanger to find Stormshadow.

'That was close!' Thought Arcee as she watched Rocket's retreating back.

TBC...


	4. Cosplay, Cookies, and Cobra

"You were looking for me sensei?" Asked Rocket

She had found Stormshadow lurking in a dark corner by himself.

"Cobra Commander wants us to check out the Hoover Dam," he replied.

"It's not like Cobra Commander to tell us to go sight-seeing," Rocket remarked.

"Fool! He wants us to check if there is a abandoned base there that the Dam was built to hide!" Stormshadow crossed his arms and glared at his student.

"Why on Earth would there be a base there?" Rocket looked puzzled.

"That is why we are going there to find out," Stormshadow replied, "be ready in ten minutes."

"Are we taking one of the Stealth Cruisers?" Rocket hoped the answer would be yes, she didn't want to travel anywhere on a pink bike.

"No, we only have three at the moment, and Zartan is off in one, so is Destro and the one Firefly brought back is being overhauled."

"What happened to the others?" Asked Rocket, sadly.

"Do you really need to ask? The Sigmas keep destroying them." Stormshadow said.

"Are we working on a shoe-string budget?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Stormshadow's eyes, the only part of his face she could see, looked puzzled.

"It's just that almost everything is either broken or destroyed and hardly any repairs are being done. That's why I want to know if Cobra is working on a shoe-string budget?" She looked expectantly at him

"Don't be ridiculous," said Stormshadow as he started to walk away.

"Wait! How are we getting there then?" Rocket was hoping he wouldn't say what she was dreading.

"Isn't it obvious? I shall travel on my Ninja Bike and you will use yours," he said looking back at her.

"I can't!" Rocket protested.

Stormshadow turned round, "why not? It was working perfectly last time I check."

"It's pink," Rocket replied.

"I fail to see the problem, nothing is wrong with it but the paint work. Now be ready and waiting in ten minutes!" Stormshadow snapped before leaving.

Alone, Rocket gave a slight sigh. She would have to alert Duke to this new development. To do that she needed to be somewhere private so she headed to off to her quarters.

***

Barricade was hiding, he saw a Autobot land near where he was staying - and that meant one thing. More Autobots would be on their way soon to welcome the new arrival.

He was driving over some rocky landscape getting some grumbles from Frenzy who was trying to surf the net inside of him.

He remembered how they met up after the battle, he was nursing his wounds in the country side near the Hoover Dam after his defeat by Optimus. Frenzy had found him, walked all the way from the Dam with half his head under one arm.

Barricade manage to repair him and the two went on the run from the Autobots.

Frenzy had discovered Internet surfing and spent his free time online… in fact almost all of his time online. At the moment he was trying to find out about coffee but as he was typing the word in, Barricade went over a particularly large bump.

His fingers slipped over the keyboard and pressed enter.

The search-engine popped up some links but they weren't about coffee.

"Cccosplay?" Frenzy wondered aloud and clicked on the first link.

***

Inside her quarters, Rocket took off her right boot. There was a secret pocket hidden inside of it. She pulled out a card around the same size of a credit card. It was her communicator.

She sat down at her dressing table and activating the communicator, spoke into it.

"Hi-tech!" She whispered.

"Hey Rocket!" Replied Hi-Tech in a cheerfully loud voice.

"Keep your damn voice down!" Rocket hissed, threatening the card with her hairbrush.

Even though she couldn't see Hi-tech, she knew the card had a tiny camera that showed her in a vid-screen on Hi-Tech's monitor.

"What kind of greeting is that?" Whispered back Hi-tech, sounding hurt.

"One that means I don't have much time to talk," replied Rocket.

"Go ahead and report Rocket," came Duke's voice.

"Stormshadow and I are on our way to the Hoover Dam, apparently there is a abandoned base there or something that we have to check out," Rocket said.

"But we are on our way to you," came Scarlett's voice.

"What, did you just decide to drop by for a cup of coffee or something?" Rocket asked surprised.

"No, a comet landed near you last night that has been getting some attention. So naturally - we want to check it out," replied Duke.

"But enough of that," came Hi-tech's voice again, "how is my bike doing?"

"Um… it's okay," replied Rocket a little hesitantly.

"You don't sound so sure!" Hi-tech said, sounding suspicious.

"There is nothing, I repeat nothing wrong with your bike!" Yelled Rocket, "I got to go now - bye!"

She hurriedly broke off the communication before Hi-tech could ask any more questions and returned to communicator to its hiding place.

Picking up the hair brush again, Rocket looked into the mirror and began brushing her hair to put it back into a plait.

Rocket had barely begun when her door slammed open and the Baroness stood there, looking confused.

"Who vere you talking to?" She asked looking around the room.

She only saw Rocket sitting in front of her mirror.

"Vere you talking to yourself again?" She demanded.

"Um, just giving myself a slight pep talk," Rocket lied.

"Telling yourself dat there is nothing vrong with your bike?" Asked the Baroness, smirking.

"Yes, could you please go now? I have to get ready for a mission," Rocket replied.

The Baroness left and slammed the door behind her.

'That was close!' Thought Rocket, and continued the plait so she lowered the chances of getting knotty hair while travelling on her 'bike'.

***

"She's destroyed it! She's destroyed it!" Sobbed Hi-tech, while Duke and Scarlett tried to reassure him.

***

Barricade paused in his hunt for a hiding spot when he heard Frenzy laughing his little mechanical head off.

"What is it?" He asked, puzzled.

"Cccosplay!" Frenzy replied between laughing fits.

"Cosplay?" Barricade asked, even more puzzled.

"Barricade tttake Frenzy ttto aaanime expo!" Frenzy demanded, he had to see if humans did this in real life.

"No… what is an anime expo anyway?" Barricade asked yet another question, while wondering if he got all of Frenzy's wires the right way when repairing him.

Frenzy didn't reply - he was too upset that Barricade refused to take him to an anime expo.

Barricade was contemplating tossing Frenzy out of him when some movement caught his eye, he drove a little forward to see better around a rock that was hiding the movement.

He saw some flesh-bags in strange uniform walking around some robots that were slightly taller than the average human.

These robots interested him, they looked rather advance for flesh-bag technology. Barricade noted a symbol on the robots and the flesh-bags.

It looked like a red snake head, the Cobra if he wasn't mistaken.

"Frenzy!" He snapped, "find out who they are!"

"Dddon't wwwant ttto!" Sulked Frenzy.

"Do it!" Demanded Barricade.

"Only if you tttake Frenzy ttto aaanime expo!" Replied Frenzy.

Barricade sighed, it was like living with an over-spoiled sparkling.

"Won't the humans spot you?" He asked, trying to find a way out of having to take Frenzy to whatever a anime expo was.

"Nnnot with cccosplay!" Frenzy replied, he was probably right too - might even win 'best dressed cosplayer' too.

'Slag cosplay!' Barricade thought angrily.

"Fine!" He said out loud, "now will you please find out who they are?"

Frenzy happily began searching online for information. He soon found it.

"Cobra is an international terrorist organisation," he read out loud to Barricade.

'Interesting,' thought Barricade, 'they harm other flesh-bags. If we align ourselves with them - it gives us the security to start killing again. If the Autobots come after us, they'll have to go through Cobra first. Frenzy and I can always pull a 'Starscream' if we have to.'

"Frenzy!" Said Barricade, watching the flesh-bags move into a large hanger leaving the robots outside, "we're joining Cobra!"

"What?" Shrieked the smaller Decepticon.

***

Stormshadow was already in the hanger when Rocket got there, her crash helmet under one arm. He nodded to her and drove off without waiting for her.

A henchman nodded to her as he waited by the hanger doors. They had been repaired during the day but still needed to be opened and closed manually.

Rocket always remembered this Trooper, when she first saw him he was lined up in a row. Twenty second from the right and covered in mud. The only one. She never found out about the mud, but she always called him Anonymous Cobra Trooper Number 22 - or just 22 for short.

She glanced at her pink bike and sighed.

Grumbling Rocket put on her helmet and climbed onto Arcee.

'This is so odd,' thought Arcee, 'having a human on me. I suppose I ought to let her drive.'

Arcee gave a silent sigh and allowed Rocket to start her and follow after Stormshadow.

Neither of them noticed a police car approaching in the distance.

***

22 watched as Rocket disappeared into the distance, before starting to close the hanger doors. He noticed a shape approaching and paused at his job to see what it was.

A police car. Coming towards a Cobra base.

"Sir," 22 opened a radio link to his section leader.

"What is it Trooper?" Asked the section leader.

"A single police car is approaching Sir," answered 22.

"Are you being serious?" Questioned the officer.

"Yes Sir, what are your orders?" Replied 22.

"Hold on," the section leader said.

22 knew why the section leader had paused. He had gone to Cobra Commander for orders. A few years ago, no one would worry about bothering the Commander with such a simple thing. They would've taken care of it themselves.

But then one year, a section leader had chased off a Sunshine Squirrel Girl selling cookies to raise founds for her troop. Heaven's knew how she got to the base in the first place.

It was a bad mistake. Apparently Sunshine Squirrel Girl Cookies were the Cobra Commander's favourite type of biscuit.

He had found out about the girl scout being sent away.

The resulting punishment and execution was mandatory attendance for all as a reminder not to chase away Sunshine Squirrel Girls - ever!

The Cobra Commander had uttered a famous quote that day, which some how the girl scouts had got a hold of, and now printed on the biscuit boxes.

22 had seen a box last year, it had a cartoon drawing of Cobra Commander waving a fist with a speech bubble coming out of his mouth.

Inside the speech bubble was written:

"I may be an evil and diabolical mastermind who is trying to take over the world! But nothing, and I mean nothing! Gets in the way of me and my Sunshine Squirrel Girl Cookies! Says Cobra Commander."

Even since that day, every little thing was asked for Cobra Commander's verification.

"Trooper," the section leader was back, "orders are to let the B.A.T.S deal with it."

"Understood," replied 22, and continued to close the hanger doors.

He didn't want to watch the B.A.T.S take apart a moronic policeman. He just hoped none of the robots got damaged in the battle… Cobra didn't need any more damages to repair.

***

Barricade grinned as he saw the robots turn in his direction.

"A great way to show off our worth Frenzy!" He said.

Frenzy didn't reply, he was still in shock over Barricade's decision to ally with flesh-bags.

TBC...


	5. Ghosts and Singing

"You know," said the Baroness, "I think dat Rocket is losing her mind."

"You mean Rocket's off her rocker!" Firefly laughed at his joke.

The Baroness gave him a glare before taking a sip of her tea.

"I heard her talking to herself twice today," she said, to prove her point.

"What I want to know," said Firefly, "is who painted her bike pink?"

He and the Baroness both turned and looked at Machete, one the Dreadnoks who was sitting with them.

"Hey!" He protested, "it wasn't us Dreadnoks - we were with Zartan on a mission!"

"Speaking of Zartan," Baroness paused in the act of pouring herself another cup of tea, "why aren't you Dreadnoks with him right now?"

Machete sighed, "he said this mission called for brains and left us here to stay out of trouble."

"You guys out of trouble?" Firefly asked, "like that would ever happen!"

The Baroness just took another sip of her tea.

'I work with idiots,' she sighed to herself.

***

Spirit and Long Range stood on the Sea Titan's main deck, watching Billy the Falcon stretch his wings above in the sky.

"You know amigo, it is almost lunch time. We should head inside if we want to get any food before Heavy Duty and Tunnel Rat get there." Long Range remarked.

"Yes, you are right my friend," replied Spirit, while holding out his arm for Billy to land on.

The two men walked inside the ship, they were a few metres down the passage when they heard some one knocking on the door they had just walked through.

The two of them stared at each other, the deck had been deserted except for the two of them, not to mention the door was never locked except in a emergency. If it was a member of Sigma 6 - they would just walk in.

"What do you think?" Asked Spirit.

"Better answer it amigo, but be careful if it's a snake trap," answered Long Range.

Spirit nodded and went to the door. He opened it slowly.

"Excuse me sir, but I'm trying to sell cookies to raise funds for my troop," said a little girl around eight years old.

Spirit and Long Range stared at the girl.

"How on Earth did you get here?" Asked Long Range, shocked.

"My mother dropped me off," the girl replied.

"But we are in the middle of the ocean!" Spirit pointed out.

"Nothing gets in the way of a Sunshine Squirrel Girl selling cookies," the girl answered while smiling sweetly at the two men.

"Would you like to buy some cookies?" She asked.

The two men were too shocked to protest and handed over some money for a box each.

"Thank you!" The girl said as Spirit closed the door.

They were about to walk up the passage again when Long Range stopped dead.

"How on Earth is she going to get off the ship?" He asked.

They turned round and ran back to the door, ripped it open and stopped. There was no one on the deck.

***

"Cheer up Hi-tech," Scarlett said, patting him gently on the shoulder, "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is."

"No, it's probably worse!" Hi-tech said morbidly.

"Why don't you go get something to eat?" Suggested Duke.

"All right," Hi-tech agreed, "anything to take my mind off my bike."

He got up to go get some lunch when Spirit and Long Range burst into the bridge.

"Duke!" Yelled Spirit.

"The Sea Titan is haunted!" Screamed Long Range.

Everyone in the bridge stared at the two of them.

"By what?" Asked Duke.

"The ghost of a girl scout selling cookies!" Long Range replied.

"Right," Hi-tech said sarcastically, "the Sea Titan is haunted by an evil cookie selling girl scout!"

He walked out of the bridge, "I'm off to get some lunch," he muttered as he went.

"I'm sure there is a logical explanation for whatever the two of you saw," Scarlett said, looking at Spirit and Long Range.

"We are not lying," said Spirit, "here is the box I bought from her!"

"Let me see that," said Duke, as he reached out and took the box.

"You see amigo," stated Long Range, "we are not making this up!"

"What exactly happened?" Duke asked as he examined the box.

Taking turns, the two of them told Scarlett and Duke what they had seen.

"So you're telling me she wasn't there when you went back?" Asked Duke when they had finished telling their story.

"Yes," replied Spirit.

"Two of you ever think it might have been Zartan?" Duke said, "he can change his appearance and cloak himself."

"How can you be so sure?" Asked Long Range.

"With this," Duke held up the box, which neither Long Range or Spirit had looked at closely.

Duke pointed to the box.

Showing the picture of Cobra Commander with his speech bubble.

"We didn't see that," Spirit admitted, sheepish.

"Zartan is aboard the Sea Titan, and I'll bet you anything these biscuits are laced with something nasty!" Said Duke, shaking the biscuit box in his hand.

"What are we going to do Duke?" Asked Scarlett.

"Find him!" Duke replied.

***

The Autobots were parked along a deserted road, they had narrowly escaped being seen by three life forms that approached the craters the arrivals had made.

They didn't know that the life forms were Sigma 6's ninja team.

Ratchet had managed to locate Arcee's co-ordinates before they left the craters.

"Where did you get the information anyway," Hot Shot asked Ratchet, as they waited for Optimus to come up with a plan of action.

"Some computer network called the Sigma System, someone was trying to block me out as I was accessing it," Ratchet replied.

"Don't worry about," came Optimus's voice, "we'll explain to them later why we hacked their system."

"So what is the plan Optimus?" Asked Ironhide, he was getting bored waiting.

"You Ironhide will take the new arrivals back to base so they can access the Internet and research their new planet. Ratchet, Bumblebee and I will go find Arcee," Optimus instructed.

"Why do I have to play baby-sitter?" Ironhide grumbled.

"I'm going to welcome Arcee, Ratchet in case she needs medical attention and Bumblebee as he has the holograms," explained Optimus.

"Optimus, may I please request to come along with you?" This came from Prowl.

"Don't you want to learn about your new home Prowl?" Asked Optimus.

"I will later, but I wish to make up for my forgetfulness earlier," Prowl replied.

"All right, you may come," said Optimus - while ignoring Ironhide's angry growl.

The Autobots split up into two groups. Ironhide set off leading his group back to the Autobot's base. While the second group set off with Bumblebee leading, followed by Prowl, then Ratchet and Optimus bringing up the lead.

***

"Hey guys," Hi-tech said dejectedly as he walked into the recreational room.

"What's up man?" Asked Heavy Duty, pausing from stuffing his face.

"Nothing," Hi-tech replied as he sat down at the table.

Heavy Duty and Tunnel Rat continued to eat everything they could lay their hands on.

"Did you guys hear?" Asked Hi-tech suddenly.

"What?" Tunnel Rat looked up from his plate.

"Long Range and Spirit say they saw a ghost of cookie selling girl scout just now," Hi-tech said, not noticing the expression that was forming on Heavy Duty's face.

Unfortunately for Heavy Duty, Tunnel Rat did notice.

"Ghost?" Heavy Duty looked sick, "you're just pulling our leg HT!"

"Nope," said Tunnel Rat, "there is a ghost aboard the ship Heavy Duty, Stone told me the story when we first came aboard the Sea Titan."

"Now I know you're lying!" Heavy Duty accused Tunnel Rat.

Tunnel Rat grinned, Heavy Duty baiting was one of his favourite occupations.

"Stone told me HD - and you know he wouldn't lie about stuff like that!" Tunnel Rat defended himself.

Hi-tech was too dejected to even bother joining in.

"All right then," said Heavy Duty, "why is the Sea Titan haunted then?"

"Well, it all started back when the Sea Titan was being built," Tunnel Rat lied through hi teeth, "one of the dock workers brought his daughter in for the day. It was 'bring your child to work day' or something."

Heavy Duty crossed his arms and glared at Tunnel Rat.

"There was a accident that day," Tunnel Rat paused for effect, "one the cranes started to malfunction and dropped its load on the girl. Stone said ever since that day, the Sea Titan has been haunted."

"It still doesn't explain why the ghost is selling cookies TR!" Heavy Duty pointed out.

"Stone did mention she was a girl scout or something when he was telling me the story," Tunnel Rat said.

"Yeah, or something!" Heavy Duty stood up angrily, "you ain't going to get me with your ghost stories this time TR! I'm outta here!"

Heavy Duty moved towards the door, but stopped when he heard the knocking.

Hi-tech and Tunnel Rat shared a glance.

"Who's there?" Called out Heavy Duty, backing away from the door.

Silence answered him.

"Enough of this!" Hi-tech stood up, "I'll show you guys there are no ghost girls selling cookies!"

He went and opened the door.

"Hiya Mister! Would you like to buy some cookies?"

***

Zartan chuckled to himself.

'If only those stupid Sigma's could've seen their faces!' He thought as he walked through the Sea Titan looking for another unsuspecting victim.

This was one of the best missions he had thought of. Not only was he giving those stinking Sigmas cyanide laced biscuits - but they were also paying him to do so!

The Sunshine Squirrel Girls gave him a perfect excuse, and goodness knows how many boxes they had lying around back at the Cobra base thanks to Cobra Commander.

He was deciding whether to turn down a corridor or keep going straight when he heard someone running towards him.

Zartan quickly cloaked himself and flattened himself against the wall.

It was Heavy Duty running down the passage.

"Ghost!" He screamed as he ran past Zartan, "ghost!"

His screams receded into the distance.

Zartan decloaked himself and stared down the passage which Heavy Duty had run down.

'That's something you don't see every day!' He mused to himself.

Zartan decided to go in the direction that Heavy Duty had come, there was a dead end with a passage leading away to the left of it.

As Zartan turned the corner, he stopped dead, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Hiya Mister Zartan!" The Sunshine Squirrel girl said happily.

"Blimey! What the hell are you doing here!" Zartan demanded.

"We decided to extend into other areas when selling our cookies," the girl explained, "Melissa will be by your base on Tuesday with our favourite customer's order!"

"But, but this ship is in the middle of the ocean!" Zartan tried to make sense of what he was seeing.

It was creepy enough how these girls kept managing to find Cobra's secret bases, but this was pushing it a little too far.

"Nothing gets in the way of a Sunshine Squirrel Girl selling cookies for her troop!" She answered happily.

***

Duke and Scarlett were looking at the views from the security cameras, unlike Cobra's cameras - they kept theirs fixed.

"I found him!" Scarlett said suddenly, pointing at one of the screens she was looking at.

"See," said Duke, turning to Long Range and Heavy Duty standing behind him, "your ghost mystery is solved!"

"Um, Duke," said Scarlett.

"Yes, Duke we should've realised it was one of Zartan's tricks," said Long Range.

"Um, guys!" Scarlett said a little more urgently.

"Next time Duke, we won't be caught so easily," said Spirit.

"Um, Duke!" Scarlett tried again.

"Well, now that we know he's aboard - let's go teach that snake a lesson!" Said Duke.

"Zartan is not alone!" Scarlett yelled.

"What are you talking about Scarlett?" Asked Duke, looking at her puzzled.

In reply, Scarlett just pointed at the screen.

Duke came over to look at what she was pointing to.

"Zartan is just standing there," Duke said, turning white, "talking to girl scout!"

"Ghost!" Screamed Scarlett.

***

Barricade was feeling happy, he hadn't had a chance to destroy anything for ages.

He decided to do something he thought he would never ever do. Selecting one of the flesh-bag songs that Frenzy insisted on downloading, he begun to sing.

"Everybody was Kung-Fu fighting!" He sung, as he used one of B.A.T.S to whack three other B.A.T.S.

Frenzy, sitting on a rock watching the battle, groaned and buried his head in his arms.

"Sso embarrassing!" He muttered as one of the B.A.T.S head flung past him.

***

Below the hanger, in the subterranean base, Firefly looked up from the chess board as the walls shook.

"Those B.A.T.S are taking a long time to take out one cop," he said, moving a prawn.

"I know," agreed the Baroness, contemplating her next move.

The two of them were practising their chess playing in order to be able to beat Destro next time they played him.

"Wish we could watch the battle as we play," Firefly said wistfully, watching as the Baroness moved a piece.

"So do I, it vould be amusing, but the cameras are broken," the Baroness replied.

"Wish Cobra Commander would get one of the Troopers to fix them," Firefly took Baroness's knight.

"You know it vould be pointless, those stupid Sigmas would just destroy them again!" Baroness moved her queen out of danger.

"I suppose so," Firefly agreed as the walls shook again.

"It must be a awesome battle up there though," she said as she took one of Firefly's pawns.

***

"But they fought with expert timing!" Barricade continued singing, while jumping up and down on one of the B.A.T.S.

TBC...


	6. Confusion for All

22 was unhappy, Cobra Commander was too cheap to hire cleaning staff. Therefore, the Troopers had to double as maids.

It was humiliating, especially if Cobra Commander held a surprise check and found dust. The Trooper who hadn't cleaned properly was forced to wear a maid's outfit over his uniform for a week.

The only upside to that punishment was that Cobra was once able to hold of a Sigma 6 attack because of it.

Cobra Commander had inflicted the punishment on more than half of the Troopers at the time, and when the Sigma's burst into the base, they couldn't fight properly because they were laughing so much at the poor Troopers.

The Troopers swore never again, and made sure the base was constantly spic and span.

So this is how 22 ended up unhappily sweeping the hanger by himself.

Every now and then a Dreadnok would poke his head into the hanger and yell comments, such as, "missed a spot," and, "better hurry, Cobra Commander is coming!"

"Morons!" 22 muttered after the last comment, made by Buzzer.

He could've sworn a few moments ago he had heard singing, but over the sound of the battle outside - it was hard to tell. So 22 just ignored the snatches of 'Kung Fu Fighting' he heard every now and then.

By the sounds of it, the battle outside the hanger had died down.

22 was just deciding if he should go and check on the damage when he heard a large bang on the hanger door.

'It's not Tuesday, so it can't be the girl scouts,' he thought, as whatever it was outside banged against the door again.

He walked towards the door, to see if maybe Stormshadow and Rocket had returned early from their mission, when the door was hit for a third time… and something burst in.

It was the police car, leaving a very police car looking hole in the hanger door, it drove up to a very shocked looking 22.

22 noticed it had no driver, this didn't bother him so much. Once you had worked for Cobra as long as he had, you soon ceased to be amazed by self-driving cars.

"Are you Ladiesman217?" It demanded.

"What?" Asked 22, puzzled.

"Slag! Wrong line!" The car yelled, "I meant, are you Cobra Commander?"

The car extended from its front bumper, what 22 could only described as nasty looking weapons.

"Um, no," 22 replied to police car.

He was seriously starting to get worried, this car was acting like one of Cobra's B.A.T.S, one that had been too close to an exploding power stone and had gone berserk.

"If you are not Cobra Commander, then you are worthless to me flesh-bag!" The car yelled and its engine revved angrily, "prepare to meet Primus!"

22 fell backwards, "don't kill me," he cringed, "I can take you to Cobra Commander!"

He wondered briefly who the heck Primus was.

The car seemed to pause for a moment, then swung open its front passenger door.

22 didn't need an invitation, he got into the car. He saw a little mechanical creature sitting in the driver's seat, it was holding a laptop.

"Hi," 22 said weakly to it.

It just ignored him and continued whatever it was doing on the laptop.

"Directions meat sack!" The car ordered, its voice seeming to come from the radio.

"Um, go through that door to the left there," instructed 22.

The car turned towards the door 22 had pointed out to it.

"Oh wait," 22 said, "it's closed. Do you want me to get out and open it for you?"

"No need," the police car replied, and carried on driving.

Leaving another police car looking hole where the door should have been.

***

Lieutenant Stone was feeling happy, he had just finished checking out the Dragon Hawk's systems and they were working perfectly.

Might not even need that new upgrade that Hi-tech had been hinting to him about.

Stone was feeling a bit hungry, so he decided to stop by the recreation room to see if any lunch had been spared from Tunnel Rat and Heavy Duty.

He had not been expecting what he saw when he walked into the room.

"Um chaps, what do you think you are doing?" He asked, feeling confused.

Tunnel Rat and Hi-tech were hiding under the table in the middle of the room, shaking with fear.

"Is the ghost still there?" Hi-tech asked, voice quaking with fear.

"What ghost?" Stone replied, feeling even more puzzled.

"The evil cookie selling girl scout ghost!" Tunnel Rat managed to squeak out.

"Evil cookie selling girl scout ghost?" Stone repeated blankly.

"She wants us to buy her cookies!" Hi-tech tried to explain.

Stone decided to give them up as a bad job, having finally cracked under the pressure or something.

'I ought to let Duke know that something is wrong with the two of them,' he thought as he left and headed for the bridge.

"Don't leave us here alone!" Tunnel Rat yelled at Stone's retreating back.

He and Hi-tech gave a small whimper but stayed under the table for safety.

***

Stormshadow was already a speck in the far distance.

Rocket didn't bother trying to catch up to him, but decided to take a nice leisurely ride to the Hoover Dam. She soon lost sight of Stormshadow.

In his replacement, a procession of cars were coming in the opposite direction.

As they got closer to each other, Rocket was able to make out what types the vehicles were, as well as making comments on their order in the procession.

First was a yellow sports car, 'probably stolen by some punk kid wanting to impress his girlfriend,' Rocket thought.

Next in line was a police car, 'and there are the police after his juvenile ass,' was Rocket's second thought.

After the police car came a rescue vehicle, 'must be expecting the kid to wipe out and hurt himself,' was the third thought of Rocket.

The last in line was a large truck, blue with red flames painted on it, 'I'll laugh if that's there to pick up the wreckage afterwards,' was Rocket's fourth and last thought on the procession.

She ignored the vehicles getting closer and just concentrated on driving.

As she started passing the vehicles, her bike started acting up.

"Come on, not now!" She muttered angrily aloud.

As she started to pass the truck, the bike's wheels locked.

Rocket tried her best to hold on, but lost the fight against inertia.

She flew over the handlebars, hit the tarmac hard, and after tumbling down the road a few metres, came to a stop on her back, looking up at the blue sky.

"Ow!" She snarled, along with a few other choice curse words.

***

Stone entered the bridge, and ducked as one of Scarlett's crossbow bolts came flying towards him.

"Are you crazy?" He yelled.

"Yeah, he's right," came Duke's voice, "you can't hurt a ghost like that, you'll only make it angry!"

"I had to try something!" Scarlett yelled back.

Stone got up off the ground at looked around the bridge in amazement.

Scarlett, Duke, Long Range, Spirit and those two who always sat in the bridge steering the ship - were all cowering against the wall in fear.

"What is going on here?" He yelled.

"The Sea Titan is being haunted Stone!" Duke yelled back.

"Oh no! Not this again!" Stone moaned, "am I the only sane person on board this vessel?"

"If you don't believe us," Scarlett said, "then why don't you go prove us wrong!"

"Yeah amigo," Long Range added, "but watch out for Zartan."

"What?" Stone yelled, "Zartan is aboard but you are all sitting here like frightened children instead of doing something about it!"

"But there's a ghost!" Pointed out Spirit.

"Ghost? Ghost!" Stone once again yelled, "you fools! Zartan is probably the ghost himself!"

"No he isn't!" Countered Scarlett, "we saw so on the security cameras!"

Stone sighed.

"I'll go out and prove to you all that Zartan is this 'ghost' and there are no such things as ghosts!" He gave one final yell, before leaving the bridge.

***

Rocket slowly got to her feet, the Cobra uniform wasn't as good as wearing leathers, but it was good enough. She only had a few bruises and abrasions.

Rocket noted that the procession on the opposite side of the road had stopped.

'Probably taking a good laugh at the stupid motorcyclist!' She thought angrily.

Funny, the driver of the rescue vehicle hadn't got out to check if she was okay.

She took off her helmet and glared at her bike.

Something was off with it, it was standing perfectly balanced upright with no visible means of support.

"Fall over!" Rocket muttered aloud to it.

"I will not!" Arcee yelled back.

This startled Rocket for a few minutes.

"Okay!" Rocket yelled back, "Hi-tech did not program you to talk!"

"Who the pit is Hi-tech?" Arcee yelled her question back.

"The guy who created you!" Rocket yelled back her reply.

"Slag that! I was created by Primus!" Arcee, once again, yelled back.

"Who the hell is Primus?" Rocket demanded.

"I just said - the one who created me!" Snarled Arcee.

"No he didn't! Hi-tech did!" Screamed Rocket.

"Primus did!" Screamed back Arcee.

"Hi-tech!"

"Primus!"

"Hi-tech!"

"Primus!"

Unbeknown to the two of them, they were being watched by a audience.

"Do you think we should interrupt?" Bumblebee asked, feeling a bit worried.

"No," replied Ratchet, "I read online that it is good to let your feelings out, that it is bad to keep things bottled up."

"But still," Sam said, "isn't it strange that this woman isn't worried by a talking bike?"

"I was wondering that myself," replied Optimus.

"Can I arrest them for disturbing the peace?" Asked Prowl.

***

Stone crept along one of the corridors, according to the readings he was getting on his Sigma-link gauntlet, Zartan was nearby.

He heard an odd noise, sort of like some one trying their best to keep quiet and not cry out.

Stone leapt around a corner, and stopped dead.

Zartan was curled up against the wall, looking scared to death. He looked up and saw Stone.

"You got to help me mate!" Zartan whispered, "they get everywhere! Its not natural!"

"Who gets everywhere?" Stone demanded, covering Zartan with his gun.

"The Sunshine Squirrel Girls!" Zartan replied, glancing behind him to see if one was creeping up on him.

"Who?" Stone asked, puzzled.

"They sell cookies for their troop!" Explained Zartan.

"Are you referring to the evil cookie selling girl scout ghost?" Asked Stone, feeling confused.

"Yes!" Zartan nodded.

"Hey!" Came a voice behind Stone, "we're not evil, or ghosts!"

***

Firefly, having got bored of playing chess, was taking a walk around the subterranean base.

As he walked down one of the corridors, he paused.

'I swear that sounds like a car driving around down here,' he thought.

Brushing it off as nothing, he continued his walk.

***

"Are you sure this is the right way meat bag?" Demanded Barricade.

"Yes," 22 replied, "Cobra Commander's throne room is right in the middle of the base.

"Are we there yet?" Frenzy asked for the hundredth time.

"Turn left and continue straight for about a mile," 22 instructed, while trying to ignore the shocked look on Firefly's face as they drove past him.

***

"So basically," Stone said to the little girl, "your troop goes around selling cookies everywhere?"

"Yes mister!" She replied.

"But how do you get everywhere?" He asked, confused.

"Well, Melissa's dad owns a plane, Mary's dad a speedboat, Alice's mother has a ATV," the girl explained, "and Sue's parent's created a teleportation machine - and you don't want to what Francis's parents have come up with!"

"Teleportation machine?" Stone asked.

"Yep! Now how many boxes do you want?" The girl replied.

Stone had managed to convince everyone on the Sea Titan to come out of hiding when he showed that the girl was a living breathing person and not a ghost. No one had managed to locate Heavy Duty yet to tell him the news.

Zartan had disappeared off the ship while Stone had been distracted by the girl scout.

At the moment, everyone was sitting on the Sea Titan's deck waiting for the girl to be fetched.

Tunnel Rat, after getting over his fear, had bought several boxes from her.

Duke had questioned her about the Cobra Commander quote, but after discovering that the girl scouts delivered to the base Sigma 6 already knew about, he stopped asking.

"So," the girl asked, "you guys okay if we add you to the regular customers list?"

"Yeah sure!" Tunnel Rat spluttered through a mouth full of biscuit.

"Just warn us before you come, that's all!" Duke was still smarting from having hidden from a little girl.

Mary's dad soon arrived to pick her up.

"So, how far are we to the comet?" Asked Scarlett waving goodbye.

"Almost there," replied Hi-tech.

"The ninja team should already be there though," commented Duke.

***

Snake Eyes stopped, he had come across some wreckage while travelling towards the comet's co-ordinates. His apprentices stopped as well to take a look at what he had found.

"Is that?" Jinx started.

"Hi-tech's bike?" Finished off Kamakura.

Snake Eyes nodded.

"Its mangled!" Observed Jinx.

"Crushed more like it!" Said Kamakura.

"A write-off!" Remarked Jinx.

Kamakura looked up from the bikes remains towards his sensei.

"Hi-tech is going to kill Rocket isn't he?" He asked fearfully.

Snake Eyes just nodded.

TBC...


	7. Proven Worth and Secrets

Cobra Commander was bored, contrary to what his henchmen thought - sitting on a throne all day looking menacing wasn't as exciting as it looked.

The Baroness was in the throne room also, as well as the three Dreadnok's Buzzer, Torch and Machete. The four of them were playing eye-spy with each other.

Cobra Commander would have joined them to relieve his boredom except it wouldn't look dignified for the mighty Cobra leader going "I spy with my little eye…"

So he had to sit in his throne drumming his fingers on the armrest waiting for something to happen.

By the sounds of it, the game was beginning to wane, there wasn't much in the room to spy with in the first place. Something that started with 'T' could be Trooper, Throne or Torch. 'B' was Baroness and Buzzer. 'C' was Cobra Commander, Ceiling and Cobra symbol. 'F' was floor. 'S' was steps. 'D' was door. And lastly, 'M' was Machete. So understandably the game was boring to start off with.

"I wish something would happen!" Machete muttered aloud, giving voice to everyone in the room thoughts.

'Maybe I should invest in building that arcade on the base that Overkill keeps begging me for?' Cobra Commander thought to himself, 'nah! I hate Overkill!'

Desperate for something to do, Cobra Commander decided to do some Trooper bullying.

"You there!" He screeched at the luckless Trooper who had caught his eye.

"Yes Sir?" The Trooper swung round from his post outside the throne room's doors and saluted.

"I thought I told you Troopers no driving allowed inside the base !" Cobra Commander shouted, hearing the sound of a car.

The Trooper didn't know what to do - it wasn't him driving.

The sound of the car got closer and closer.

***

Tunnel Rat had finally found Heavy Duty hiding under his bed.

That wasn't a good thing considering the size of Heavy Duty and comparing it to the size of the space under his bed.

It took them two hours and a few tools (including the jaws of life) to free Heavy Duty.

"Thanks guys!" Heavy Duty said as he stretched his muscles to get rid of the cramps he had got from being trapped.

"You do realise you don't have a bed any more?" Scarlett said, pointing at the wreckage that used to serve as a bed.

"That's okay - so long as I know that the Sea Titan ain't haunted, I don't mind," he responded.

"Enough of this," Duke interrupted, "we have reached land so now it's time to move out to the comet"

"We are already behind schedule," Hi-tech said, looking at his gauntlet computer.

"Let's get ready to go!" Duke ordered.

The Sigmas split up and went their separate ways to get ready.

***

Luckily the doors to throne room were open, or otherwise Cobra would've had another hole to repair.

This didn't stop Barricade from spinning his wheels and making them screech as he drove into the throne room.

"Show off!" Frenzy muttered as Barricade came to a halt.

Barricade didn't bother responding and instead opened his door and chucked 22 out of him.

Cobra Commander sat on his throne, it was a good thing he wore a mask or otherwise his minions would've seen him with his mouth open in shock.

There was silence for a minutes as 22 staggered away from the police car that had thrown him out of it.

The Dreadnoks and the Baroness could see into the car that had parked alongside of them - they could see that it was empty except for a metal creature.

Cobra Commander sitting high up on his throne couldn't see into the car as Barricade had parked too far back into the shadows.

"What is the meaning of this!" He screeched when he had recovered his voice.

"I wish to join Cobra," came the reply from the car.

"Why would one stupid cop want to join Cobra!" Cobra Commander yelled, not being able to see into the car he didn't know there was no one driving it.

"Why not?" Came the reply from Barricade, sounding just a bit puzzled about his welcome.

"What can you do for the mighty Cobra?" Demanded Cobra Commander.

"I can destroy things," Barricade was cursing himself, they must of heard him singing and what did his first platoon leader say to him when he was a rookie? 'No one wants a singing Decepticon - it means they're weak!'

"How can one moronic cop destroy anything!" Cobra Commander yelled.

"I destroyed those robot things outside," Barricade said, trying to prove himself to a stupid human and feeling ashamed for doing so.

"You what?" Screamed Cobra Commander, "why the hell did you do that!"

"To prove my worth," this wasn't going the way Barricade thought it - didn't these flesh-bags watch the battle?

"To prove your worth? Your worth!" Spluttered Cobra Commander, "do you know how much one of those B.A.T.S cost apiece? You probably bankrupted us trying to prove 'your worth'!"

The Baroness looked at Cobra Commander in puzzlement, surely something that could destroy so many B.A.T.S without getting a scratch on it was an asset to Cobra?

She wasn't the only one confused, Barricade was wondering if this was a good plan of his after all.

Barricade opened his door and let Frenzy out. It was time to show his true self.

"What was that?" Cobra Commander demanded as he saw Frenzy slink off into the shadows.

"My partner," responded Barricade.

He started to transform, and stood towering above the shocked humans.

'Now this will get that flesh-bag's attention,' Barricade thought, gazing his optics on Cobra Commander.

"Oh whoop-tee-doo! He turns into a giant robot!" Cobra Commander said sarcastically, "like we don't have enough of those hanging around the base!"

***

Overkill was angry. Cobra Commander had just cut his budget so he couldn't build the latest in his Overlord robot series.

He stalked in his robotic body down the corridor towards the throne room.

If cutting his budget wasn't bad enough, Cobra Commander had removed his means of communication from his lab. Now that he wasn't stuck in a tank of liquid and now had a body to move around in - he had to report directly to Cobra Commander. So no more quick insults to the stupid organic via a vid screen - Overkill had to say his insults to Cobra Commander face to face.

'Stupid, stupid organic!' Seethed Overkill to himself.

***

Duke walked into the Sea Titan's cargo hold where everyone was getting their modes of transport ready.

"Anyone seen Hi-tech?" He asked.

"No, haven't seen him old chap," Stone replied.

"Strange," mused Duke, "he isn't here and he isn't in his quarters, nor on the bridge."

"I wonder where he is then?" Spirit said.

"Anyone notice the mini-chopper is gone too?" Long Range remarked.

Duke's gauntlet started beeping urgently, opening it he saw Kamakura's worried looking face.

"Duke!" He said, "there is a big problem! We tried to tell you first but he found out!"

"Tell me what and who found out?" Duke asked.

"Hi-tech! We found his bike in ruins! We wanted to let you know so you could let him down gently!" Kamakura explained.

Duke didn't respond, he just cut the communication link.

He put 2 and 2 together and got 4.

Missing Hi-tech + missing mini-chopper equalled dead Rocket!

"Stone!" Duke yelled, "take Heavy Duty and go after Hi-tech in the Dragon Hawk! Just remember Rocket is with Stormshadow so try not to blow her cover!"

"Roger Duke!" Replied Stone and ran towards his aircraft.

"The rest of us are going on to the comet in the R.O.C.C," Duke ordered as Stone and Heavy Duty took off, "Scarlett, you stay behind and take up Hi-tech's duties till we get back!"

"Yes Duke," She replied and went off to the bridge.

"Let's go!" Yelled Duke.

***

"What do you mean you are not impressed by a giant transforming robot?" Asked a puzzled Barricade.

"The transforming bit is impressive I agree," Cobra Commander replied, "but the giant robot bit isn't!"

"How can a giant robot not be impressive?" Barricade felt a bit hurt.

"We already have giant robots thanks to the Overlord series and they keep getting destroyed!" Cobra Commander explained.

"But they are not sentient like me!" Barricade put a bit of whine in his voice, "and I have centuries of battle experience!"

"This is not a job interview!" Cobra Commander screamed, "now get out!"

Barricade was just deciding to kill every human in the base when a surprised gasp came from the open doors.

He looked over his shoulder and saw a human sized robotic body standing behind him.

Overkill - if his faced showed any emotions - was extremely happy.

"You remembered!" He shouted to Cobra Commander.

"Er, I, what?" Asked Cobra Commander confused.

"My birthday present!" Overkill shouted as he ran up and started hugging Barricade's leg.

"Ah! Get it off! Get it off!" Screamed Barricade, shaking his leg trying to dislodge Overkill.

Frenzy leaped from the shadows onto Barricade's leg and began throwing shurikens at Overkill, unfortunately Overkill's body was armoured and the shurikens kept bouncing off without causing any damage.

Frenzy, not holding on like Overkill fell off the shaking leg.

"Get off!" Barricade screamed, and grabbed Overkill in his hand.

He then did what Arcee did with Hi-tech's bike.

Except, he was underground and didn't have a nice open space to throw Overkill.

This didn't stop him though.

Cobra Commander, sitting on his throne, looking up at the new sky-light that Barricade had created with Overkill made up his mind.

He looked at Barricade, "welcome to Cobra!"

"What?" Asked a confused Barricade, "I just threw one of your men through the roof!"

"I never liked him!" Cobra Commander explained.

"Wwwhat aaabout me?" Demanded Frenzy, sitting up where he fell.

"What can he do?" Asked Cobra Commander, "he doesn't look like a worthwhile fighter!"

"Frenzy is one of the best hackers in the galaxy," Barricade said, "and I wouldn't insult him if I were you!"

"Best hacker," scoffed the Baroness, "I liked to see that!"

"Yes," agreed Cobra Commander, "have it hack into Sigma 6's computer systems!"

"He'll never do it," Torch whispered to Buzzer.

Frenzy, upset that he wasn't considered good enough for Cobra and from being referred to as 'it', decided to show these meat sacks just how good a hacker he was.

It took him two seconds to get past Hi-tech's defences, he opened up the personnel files and started going through the personal profiles.

Everyone else could see what he was doing courtesy of Cobra Commander's big screen he had installed in the throne room.

"He can join too if he wants to," Cobra Commander said as he watched the different profiles flick pass.

"Stop!" The Baroness suddenly screamed, "go back to that last profile!"

Frenzy did so, and everyone but the two Cybertronians stared at the profile's photo in shock.

"Rocket is a Sigma?" Screamed Cobra Commander.

***

Unaware that her true identity had been discovered, Rocket was still fighting with her bike.

That is until two teenagers got out of the yellow car in front and came to her.

"Um," The teenage girl of the pair said, "you do realise you are fighting with your bike?"

"Don't you think there is something odd with that?" Asked the boy.

"Not with the machines Hi-tech builds!" Rocket shouted angrily at the two who had interrupted her fight.

"I already told you human!" Arcee screamed, "I wasn't built by this Hi-tech!"

"She's right you know," Mikaela said quickly before Rocket could respond.

"What do you know?" Demanded Rocket.

"This isn't your original bike," Sam started to explain, "it's a copy of it."

"There are no copies!" Rocket yelled, "it's unique!"

"Not any more," muttered Arcee darkly.

"Please calm down and we'll explain!" Sam said, trying not to provoke someone he viewed as a crazy lady.

"Fine!" Rocket said, "it's not like I have anything better to do at the moment other than try to take over the world!"

"What?" Asked Mikeala puzzled.

"She is what you human's call a terrorist!" Arcee explained.

"I am not!" Rocket yelled back at her.

"Then why do you belong to the terrorist organisation Cobra?" Shot back Arcee.

"I'm, well, um," Rocket didn't know if she could break her cover or not.

Sam didn't know if he could trust her enough to tell her the truth about the Autobots.

"Sam, Mikaela!" Called Optimus, "get over here where it is safe. The Internet says these Cobras are like the Decepticons!"

"Decepticons?" Rocket asked confused, just when you where about to stop Cobra - another one pops up to take its place.

Optimus began to transform, followed by the rest of the Autobots.

"I've informed Ironhide," Optimus said, "he and Will are coming to take this human into custody."

Rocket began laughing - her day was just getting worse and worse.

"Not my day!" She muttered, "Bad morning and now giant robots are making a citizen's arrest on me!"

"Aren't you bothered by us human?" Asked Ratchet, confused.

"No, why should I be?" Rocket replied, "after everything I've seen since joining Sigma 6?"

"Wait a second?" Optimus said, "Sigma 6? But according to these military files I've accessed they are the Autobot version of Cobra!"

"You hacked into our files!" Screamed Rocket.

"Sorry about that!" Ratchet mumbled sheepishly.

"Does that mean you are a spy?" Asked Bumblebee, interested.

"Yes," Replied Rocket, the cat was out of the bag.

"I scanned her response," said Ratchet, "she was not lying when she said that."

"What is going on here?" Asked Sam.

"I would like to hear the whole story to," Prowl added.

So Rocket told her story, after which Arcee apologised slightly for jumping to conclusions.

Optimus explained about the Autobots and why they were on Earth.

But one thing still needed explaining.

"What the hell happened to Hi-tech's bike?" Asked Rocket.

Everyone turned to looked at Arcee.

"I, um, accidentally crushed it!" She whispered.

"You what!" Screamed Rocket, "what am I going to tell Hi-tech?"

"Yes, exactly what are you going to tell me!" A voice behind her said.

Transformer and human alike turned to stare at the newcomer who had managed to sneak up on them.

It was Hi-tech, looking extremely pissed off.

TBC...


	8. Rocket is so Screwed!

"Who is this?" Asked Optimus, wondering how his senses didn't pick up the human.

"This is Hi-tech!" Rocket said as she slowly backed away from him.

It was amazing how scary looking Hi-tech could look if he wanted to.

"Ah! The creator of Arcee's alternate mode vehicle!" Ratchet said as he looked down at the angry human.

"Hi-tech! No!" Screamed a new voice.

Stone and Heavy Duty ran out of the bushes alongside to road and stopped dead.

It wasn't the sight they thought they would see. Albeit it was better than the one they had imagined they would see.

"Whoa!" Said Heavy Duty, looking up at the Autobots, "cool man!"

"No," said Prowl, "the temperature is not cool, it is warm."

The Transformers who had been on Earth for some time, stifled their giggles at the 'newbie'.

"I trusted you with that bike!" Yelled Hi-tech, "and you let it get destroyed!"

"But I," Rocket tried to interrupt his tirade.

"The ninja's found the wreckage! They say it is totally smashed!"

"I didn't mean…" Arcee started.

"How could you do this to me?"

"But I didn't have anything to do with it!" Rocket tried again.

"It was in your care - you were supposed to look after it!"

"It was an accident," Arcee tried to explain.

"And I didn't give it to Snake-eyes for this very reason!"

"What? So it didn't get stomp on by a giant robot?" Asked Sam surprised.

"Yes!" Screamed Hi-tech.

"What giant robots do you know?" Optimus whispered to Stone.

"Ones from Cobra," Stone replied, a little confused why there were giant robots surrounding them at the moment.

"So you are from Sigma 6?" Ratchet asked.

"Yes," Stone said.

"We hacked your computer system earlier - sorry about that!" Ratchet apologised.

"That was you?" Yelled Hi-tech.

"We were trying to find our companion Arcee's location," Optimus explained.

"But you took the comet's location?" Heavy Duty said, puzzled.

"The comet was Arcee entering Earth's atmosphere," Ratchet said.

"And the other comets?" Asked Stone.

"One of those was Prowl here, yes they were also our fellow Autobots," Optimus replied.

"Hold on for a minute old chap!" Stone said, and opened his gauntlet and contacted Duke.

Optimus wondered why he was referred to as an old chap.

"Stone, what's up?" Asked Duke as he opened the communication line, fearing the worst.

"Don't bother going to the comet!" Said Stone.

"Why not amigo?" Long Range asked, entering the conversation. After all, he was driving the R.O.C.C so he needed to know where they were going.

"We know what it was, and that it isn't there any more," Stone replied.

"So what was it then?" Duke asked.

"The ninja's were right - giant alien robots!"

Long Range crashed into a tree.

***

"Yes Duke, no she is still alive. No, Hi- tech is calming down. Yes, yes. Do you need parts for the R.O.C.C's repairs? Yes, I'll bring Hi-tech to help out fixing the R.O.C.C."

Optimus watched the human communicate with its commanding officer.

Sigma 6 seemed to be a strange bunch of humans, well, the strangest bunch he had met so far.

The one called Hi-tech was coming to some sort of agreement with Arcee and the one called Rocket. As punishment for destroying his bike, Arcee had to stay with Rocket until Hi-tech could build a new one.

The three Sigma's soon left to help repair the R.O.C.C, which as far as Optimus could work out had crashed into a tree.

Arcee, after Ratchet had made sure she was all right, had left with Rocket to catch up with Stormshadow.

As they were the only ones left, the Autobots returned back to their base.

***

Stormshadow was seething, he had realised that Rocket wasn't following him and had turned round to find out where she was.

He had seen the mini-chopper land and decided to get off his ninja bike and creep through the bushes to find out what was going on.

What was going on was that his student was a damn spy!

He didn't stick around when Stone and Heavy Duty arrived but made his way back to the ninja bike.

The betrayal bit at him, it burned like his 'brother' Snake-eye's betrayal to the Arashikage Clan.

Rocket would pay, and she would pay dearly.

He would report her to Cobra Commander and let him decide her punishment.

Stormshadow would've dealt with her straight away, but the Sunshine Squirrel Girl cookie incident and resulting punishment reminded him not to do anything without Cobra Commander's orders.

He waited by his bike at the side of the road, and smiled grimly behind his mask as he watched her and her transforming bike approach.

***

Ironhide came to halt.

"Where is everyone?" Asked Will confused.

"These are the co-ordinates Optimus gave me!" Yelled Ironhide angrily.

***

"Oh slag!" Swore Bumblebee.

"Bumblebee!" Optimus said angrily, "what have I told you about swearing!"

"Sorry Optimus!" Bumblebee apologised, "it's just that I suddenly remembered we forgot to tell Ironhide not to come arrest the human!"

"Oh slag!" Swore Optimus.

***

"Stormshadow!" Came Firefly's voice over the communicator.

"What is it?" Stormshadow demanded as he watched Rocket approach.

"Cobra Commander wants you to return to base immediately, you'll find out why when you get here!" Firefly replied.

"Will do," Stormshadow said, and cut the line.

Rocket pulled up alongside of him.

Stormshadow resisted the urge to strike her down.

She took off her helmet and looked at him.

"Why have you stopped here sensei?" Rocket asked.

'How dare she call me sensei!' Stormshadow snarled in his mind.

"We are returning to Cobra," he said aloud.

He got onto the ninja bike and turned round in the direction of the base.

Rocket and Arcee turned round and followed.

They pulled into Cobra's hanger and stopped.

There was a new addition to the fleet of vehicles.

"Why are the Dreadnoks painted the Cobra symbol on a police car?" Rocket asked Stormshadow.

"Don't bother me with your petty questions!" He snarled and stalked off to find Cobra Commander.

Rocket felt the atmosphere in the hanger drop slightly.

"Is it just me, or is everyone pretty much glaring at me?" She whispered to Arcee.

"I don't care about that human!" Arcee said, "that police car is a Decepticon!"

Barricade, a little angry that Cobra Commander had ordered the Cobra symbol painted onto his bonnet, recognised Arcee.

"Autoscum!" He yelled and drove forward to ram Arcee.

"Stop!" Rocket jumped in front of him.

"What do you think you are doing?" She demanded, poking his grill with a finger.

"Get out of my way meat bag!" Barricade yelled angrily.

"I don't care about you!" Rocket yelled back, "but I do care for Cobra's newest member Arcee!"

"What? An Autobot joining Cobra?" Said Barricade in disbelief.

"It's true!" Arcee drove forward, "Optimus is too strict, and I just want to have a little fun and Cobra sounds fun!"

"I'll never work alongside a Autobot!" Barricade snarled.

"Then leave," challenged Arcee, "I've been here since last night!"

"You never told me Autobot's were members!" Barricade yelled at the Dreadnoks.

"We didn't know, that's why," Firefly responded, watching the argument from the sidelines.

He glared at Rocket and came to take a closer look at Arcee.

"So this is why your bike changed colours last night," he said.

"Black is a Decepticon colour, how am I to spy on the Autobots if my colour is black?" Arcee replied.

"Spy, now that is an interesting word," Firefly smirked and walked over to Barricade.

Rocket felt a bit worried by what he said, but dismissed it to the fact that he used to spy within the Sigma 6 ranks.

"Now that everything is revealed, work together," Firefly said to Barricade and walked out of the hanger.

Barricade just glared at Arcee and reversed to the Dreadnoks to complete his paint work.

After a moments hesitation, Arcee followed to have the Cobra symbol painted on her as well.

Rocket decided to get something to eat.

***

Stormshadow walked into the throne room.

"Cobra Commander, I have some bad news," he began.

"That your student is a spy?" Cobra Commander finished off for him.

"How did you know? I only just found out myself!" Stormshadow said.

"Those stupid Joes should really work out that they should remove all traces of members that are spying on us in case they get hacked!" Cobra Commander explained, being old fashioned he still referred to the Sigmas as Joes sometimes.

"What are your orders my lord?" Asked Stormshadow.

"Leave her be for the time being, I've decided to trick Sigma 6. Feed them false information and lead them into a trap!" Cobra Commander said.

"So instead of taking down one Sigma, we get them all?" Responded Stormshadow.

"Exactly!" Cobra Commander said evilly.

***

Blissfully unaware of all evil plans, Rocket walked into the canteen.

It went dead silent, you could of heard a pin drop.

The Troopers who were on duty in the throne room when Rocket had been discovered had told their fellow Troopers when they came off duty.

And so the information that Rocket was a spy had spread throughout the subterranean base.

Rocket tried to ignore the stares as she took a tray of food and sat down next to the Baroness.

"Why are they staring?" Rocket hissed to her.

The Baroness looked up, and the Troopers hurriedly looked down.

"They are staring as we are the only two women in the room?" The Baroness made up the lie on the spur of the moment.

"If you say so," Rocket said, not believing her.

She scoffed down her food and left quickly for the privacy of her own quarters.

The Baroness looked back at the Troopers when Rocket had left.

"Stop staring at her you imbeciles!" She hissed angrily.

TBC...


	9. "Um, Destro?"

The ninja team arrived at the crater, no one had bothered to tell them not to carry on with their mission to investigate the crater.

"It looks empty," Jinx remarked - as they edged closer to the crater.

A low moaning sound stopped them in their tracks.

"What's that?" Asked Kamakura.

It was coming from a slightly smaller hole, just to the left of the crater.

Snake-eyes peered in - and stared at the sight before his eyes.

Curious to see what their sensei was looking at, the two apprentices peered into the hole as well.

"Is that… Overkill?" Jinx asked, confused.

"Looks like it," Kamakura replied.

The three ninjas stared at the groaning wreckage that was Overkill's cyborg body.

"What do you think happened to him?" Kamakura asked.

Snake-eyes shrugged in reply.

"Do you think we should, um, help him?" Jinx asked tentatively.

The three of them continued to stare at Overkill, wondering whether to leave him or help him.

***

Destro had arrived back at the Subterranean base where he was informed of the two latest news developments.

First one was that Rocket was a spy from Sigma 6.

"What! I never did trust her!"

The second one, of course, was that the three newest recruits of Cobra were transforming alien robots.

"Did I hear that one right? Transforming alien robots!"

***

Arcee glared at Barricade.

Barricade glared at Arcee.

Frenzy ignored them both, and continued to research when the next anime convention was going to be so he could go.

The glaring competition between Arcee and Barricade was interrupted by the arrival of a stealth cruiser.

It landed gracefully in its designated parking spot, and a few minutes after it landed - a ramp extended from it. Down the ramp came two Troopers supporting a trembling red-hooded figure.

"Its okay Zartan sir, we are back at the base now," one of the Troopers said gently.

"It doesn't matter!" Zartan Sobbed, "they get everywhere! They'll find me here!"

"I'm sure the girl scouts won't hurt you," the other Trooper said.

The three of them shuffled slowly out the hanger.

There was silence for a few minutes, then Barricade spoke.

"Are you having doubts about this organisation Autobot?"

"Depends, are you?" Arcee replied.

"Depends on what these 'girl scouts' are," said Barricade, "and how dangerous they are."

A door leading into the hanger opened and Destro walked in.

"So you are the famous robots that I've been hearing about," he said to some jeeps that were standing in a corner.

Arcee and Barricade kept quiet, an unspoken mutual agreement between the two of them to play a prank on this human and see what it would do.

The jeeps, naturally, didn't reply.

Destro glared, "you could at least answer me! I do outrank you in Cobra!"

The jeeps… stayed silent.

"What planet do you come from?" Destro asked.

Silence answered him.

Frenzy had paused in his research, and was peaking out of Barricade's window, watching the show.

"Answer me!" Destro yelled angrily.

The jeeps stared silently back.

"You either answer me now! Or I'll have you scrapped!" Destro threatened the jeeps.

Frenzy couldn't contain himself any longer, and gave a loud snigger.

Destro, however, thought one of the jeeps was sniggering at him.

If his face wasn't blue - it would've turned a very deep shade of angry red.

He picked up a conveniently placed wrench, and proceeded to the nearest jeep.

As he was about to shatter the wind screen, Firefly's surprised voice stopped him.

"Um, Destro, what are you doing?"

"I'm teaching these undisciplined pieces of scrap metal a lesson!" Destro yelled, and smashed the window.

Firefly stared at the falling glass.

"Why?" He asked, shocked.

"Because they won't answer me!" Destro replied, smashing the side mirrors.

"Destro," Firefly said, "maybe you should try filling them up with gas before starting them?"

Destro stopped hitting the car and looked back at Firefly.

"You mean these aliens run on petrol?" He asked suprised.

"Those aren't aliens," Firefly replied, wondering about Destro's mentality.

"But I was told there are transforming alien robots in the hanger!" Destro yelled.

"Um, there are, but they aren't the ordinary looking jeeps," Firefly said gently.

"Then where are they?" Destro demanded.

"Take a look at the two out of place vehicles in the hanger," Firefly pointed out.

Destro glanced around the hanger, and his gaze rested on a pink motorbike and a police car - two definitely out of place vehicles.

"Oh," he said, feeling stupid.

"Exactly," replied Firefly.

The three Cybertronians burst out laughing.

***

"So," Duke started, "the craters are made by alien robots when they land on Earth?"

He looked at Stone.

"Yes Duke," Stone replied.

"And one of them looks like a pink version of Hi-tech's bike?" Asked Duke.

"Yes, and it also accidentally destroyed the original," Stone answered.

Duke glanced at Hi-tech, sitting bored in the back of the R.O.C.C.

Apparently the tree hadn't done that much damage so he wasn't needed to repair the R.O.C.C.

"How did Hi-tech react?" Asked Duke, looking back at Stone.

"Surprisingly well old chap," Stone replied, "he made a deal with the Autobot to pay him back for destroying his bike."

"They're called Autobots right?" Duke asked for confirmation.

"Yes, they said if we want talk to them, we could ask the Secretary of Defence for contact numbers," Stone replied.

"How the heck do they know him?" Duke asked, shocked.

"They didn't say," replied Stone.

***

"So it was you at Mission City?" Cobra Commander screeched at Barricade.

He was trying to find out more about his new recruits.

"Yes Cobra Commander," Barricade replied.

"Hey," said Arcee, "speak for yourself! I wasn't even on the planet at the time!"

Cobra Commander sat on his throne, his head resting on one hand, looking bored.

"Cobra was blamed for Mission City," he said, "apparently if giant robots are involved - Cobra gets the blame."

Rocket winced, she had written the press release for the Mission City incident. She hadn't been given any major details of what had happened - just briefed to blame the incident on Cobra.

Of course, that was before she had been posted to Sigma 6.

Sometimes being an ex-journalist in the military wasn't such a good thing. Propaganda and lies were expected from your talents at times.

"Did I even recruit you?" Cobra Commander asked, looking at Arcee in suprise.

"Um, voluntarily recruited myself," Arcee replied brightly.

Cobra Commander sighed, more inept henchmen for him.

***

Back on the Sea Titan, Hi-tech was going through the computer files in case Scarlett accidentally deleted something important while she was covering for him.

She had muttered something about clearing the system of junk.

"Oh no," He whispered.

"What?" Scarlett heard him, "did I delete something important?"

"No," Hi-tech replied, "we were hacked again."

"The Autobots?" Asked Duke.

"No - I traced it back to Cobra's networks," Hi-tech said, shaking his head.

"Did they leave a virus again?" Duke asked, sounding worried.

"No worse," Hi-tech replied, sounding more worried than Duke, "they got into our personnel files, past my encrypted firewalls and programs - and found Rocket's file."

There was dead silence on the bridge.

***

Rocket had taken Arcee out of the base to a deserted area.

"What are we doing here?" Arcee asked feeling puzzled.

"It's time for me to make my report to Duke, I thought you might want to contact your friends at the same time," Rocket replied, while taking her communicator out of her boot.

"Good idea," said Arcee, "I can let them know I've found a couple of Decepticons," and opened a channel to Optimus which Rocket couldn't hear.

Rocket walked a little away from Arcee, and contacted Hi-tech.

"Hi-tech, I'm sorry about your bike," she said as a way of greeting.

"Forget about that!" Hi-tech yelled into the communicator, "are you all right?"

"Um, yes," Rocket replied, wondering what had happened to Hi-tech that he didn't care about his bike anymore.

"Rocket," came Duke's voice, "Cobra knows you are a spy!"

"Oh well, that explains a lot!" Rocket said, thinking back to the strange behaviour ever since she had got back with Stormshadow that afternoon.

"I'm pulling you out," Duke said.

"No," Rocket replied, "they haven't done anything yet, I think they are going to feed me false information."

"And how is that useful?" Asked Duke.

"Think about it Duke," Rocket said, "they know that I'm a spy, but they don't know that I know that they know!"

"What?" Hi-tech asked puzzled.

"I think I know," came Scarlett's voice, "they'll try to lead us into a trap - but we can set up one ourselves - and trap them instead when they think they have captured us."

"And how do you ladies propose doing that?" Asked Duke.

"Give them a opportunity they cannot refuse - and be waiting for them when they come!" Replied Rocket.

"A opportunity like what?" Hi-tech asked.

"A reunion of Joes!" Came Scarlett's excited voice.

"A reunion of what?" Duke asked.

"Come on Duke, Lady Jaye has been hinting we do one for ages! It's the perfect opportunity!" Replied Scarlett, "you know Cobra won't be able to resist getting us all together - past and present!"

"I'll leave the planning to you," Rocket said.

"Wait - I haven't even agreed to this!" Protested Duke.

"I think its a good idea," said Hi-tech.

"Looks like you're outvoted Duke!" Scarlett said gleefully.

"Can I count on you not to tell my parents that I'm pretending to be part of Cobra?" Rocket asked.

"But why?" Asked Scarlett, "If they see you in a Cobra uniform - they'll be crushed!"

"Exactly," replied Rocket, "keep up the pretence till the last minute."

"If you say so," Duke agreed.

"I've got to get back now," Rocket said, "just one last thing - two Decepticons have joined Cobra."

"Decepti-whats?" Asked Duke puzzled.

"The opposite of the Autobots," Rocket replied and signed off.

Arcee drove up to her, "I overheard your plan, want us to take care of the Decepticons while you handle Cobra?"

"That would be appreciated - if Optimus could discuss with Duke about the plan would be great!" Rocket replied.

Arcee quickly contacted Optimus again, and after telling him of the human's plans, went back with Rocket to the Cobra base.

TBC...


	10. End of Day

"What do you mean you 'forgot' to tell me!"

"Calm down Ironhide, it was not intentional," Prime's voice tried to placate the angry mech.

"Will and I drove around for hours looking for you!" Ironhide yelled.

Optimus sighed, Ironhide had just arrived back at the Autobot base, angry as a snake that had just been stepped on by a careless human.

He and Will were not amused by Optimus's explanation of why they had been dragged into the middle of nowhere for no reason at all, and without a reception to meet them.

"Why didn't you figure out she wasn't a terrorist before calling us out!" Ironhide snarled.

"I admit we might have acted a little hastily, but it was all sorted out in the end," Optimus said.

"All sorted out? Except for the part where you conveniently went back to the base and didn't bother to tell me I was going to be wasting my time coming out!" Ironhide stormed angrily up and down Prime's office - blowing steam out of his air vents.

"Why don't you go blow something up?" Suggested Ratchet sitting in the corner.

"Like yourself!" Ironhide growled back at him.

"That's enough Ironhide, we were wrong not to inform you of the change in your mission. Now will you please stop having a tantrum!" Prime said sternly.

Ironhide gave one last glare, and stalked out of the office.

"Sometimes I wonder if he is still a sparkling," Ratchet mused as the sound of Ironhide's angry feet stamping down the corridor died away.

"Do you think Arcee will be all right with those humans?" Optimus looked at him as he sat down at his desk.

"I don't think a couple of humans will be of much concern to Arcee," replied Ratchet.

A beeping sound started on Optimus's desk, and when Optimus pressed a button there, the very femme they had been discussing started speaking.

"Reporting in Prime," Arcee said.

"What is your status?" Optimus responded.

"All right, but this place could do with a little décor!" She said.

"Do these terrorists know of your presence?" Optimus asked.

"Well, if they don't by now - something must be very wrong with them!" Replied Arcee.

"Why have you revealed yourself to the humans!" Optimus demanded, slightly angry.

"I had no choice, Barricade gave me away!" Arcee said with a slight sigh in her voice.

"Barricade?" Ratchet asked in shock.

"Yes, part of the reason I'm reporting in is to tell you Barricade and Frenzy have joined Cobra," said Arcee, "they joined up while I was meeting up with you."

"So what did you do?" Asked Optimus.

"Pretended I was bored with the Autobots and joined Cobra for fun," Arcee replied, "I even have the Cobra symbol painted on me now, and it is clashing with my paint job!"

"Do you require assistance?" Prime asked, feeling worried.

"No, I've got to go now - I'll give another report soon," Arcee said, as she cut the communication link.

Ratchet and Optimus looked at each other.

"Well, this is a new development," Ratchet said.

"One that I do not like!" Optimus responded.

"So, should we leave Arcee to her own devices - or go battle some Decepticons?" Ratchet asked.

"We'll wait for her next report," Optimus said, after some thought, "then I'll decide depending on the situation."

They didn't have long to wait for the next report, because it came a few seconds later.

"Arcee, what is the problem?" Optimus asked - worry in his voice.

"Not my problem," Arcee replied, "Sigma 6 is hatching a plan to take down Cobra, but the Decepticons could ruin it for them."

"They require our assistance?" Asked Ratchet.

"I volunteered us for it, they need to get rid of a terrorist organisation, and we need to take down the last few Decepticons. Everything falls into place here," Arcee replied.

"What do they require us to do?" Optimus asked, feeling a bit angry that Arcee hadn't consulted him first before volunteering them.

"You need to rendezvous with the leader of Sigma 6, Duke," Arcee replied.

"How do we contact this Duke?" Ratchet asked curiously.

"Just hack their system again!" Arcee replied a little cheekily, "now I really do need to go now. My next report won't be until much later."

The link closed and Optimus and Ratchet were left staring at each other again.

"Looks like we are committed Optimus," Ratchet said after a few minutes of silence.

"Looks like it, get Bumblebee to look for a way to contact Sigma 6" Optimus said gloomily.

***

Barricade and Frenzy had also left the hanger, but not to follow Arcee and Rocket.

Barricade lay on his back in his robot form watching the stars appear in the evening sky, searching for a star that could be Cybertron.

Frenzy sat near his shoulder, looking up at as well, hoping for a time when he could return home again.

Starscream sat on a asteroid, alone in space.

He couldn't go home, he couldn't go back - so he sat alone in the dark - thinking.

***

There was a knock on the door.

Flint put down the newspaper he was reading irritably.

'Who visits at this time on a Sunday night!' He thought angrily as got off the sofa to answer the door.

He opened the door and glared at the intruder of his peace, a red-headed woman.

"Hi Flint!" She said happily, "long time no see!"

"What do you want Scarlett?" He replied in a tone of voice intended to scare off any potential visitors.

"Scarlett?" Another voice called from the kitchen, and his wife Lady Jaye emerged, "don't stand out in the cold! Come in! Come in!" She said as happily as Scarlett.

"Am I to have no peace!" Flint grumbled to no one in particular, and stood aside to let Scarlett in.

"Oh don't mind him Scarlett," Lady Jaye chuckled, "he's just got grumpy in his old age."

Flint snorted derisively, and went back to his newspaper.

"So, what brings you here?" Lady Jaye asked, once the two women had settled down in the kitchen with a mug of hot chocolate each.

"Something which will make you very happy!" Scarlett replied with a smile.

"Come on - don't keep me in suspense! What?" Lady Jaye asked, curious.

"Duke has finally agreed to let us have our reunion!" Scarlett squealed excitedly.

"Are you serious?" Lady Jaye said, "are you sure he wasn't pulling your leg?"

"Nope! It's on," Scarlett replied, "only you have to do the planning - I'm too busy with missions to do invites and all that."

"Sure," Lady Jaye agreed, "do you have any requests though?"

"Just one," Scarlett said, "the reunion must be in Megalo City."

"Any particular reason why?" Lady Jaye asked.

"Not really," Scarlett replied, feeling a little guilty she couldn't tell her friend about the plan to trap Cobra.

The conservation was halted by a eleven year old boy walking into the kitchen.

"Mom, can I have some ice-cream please?" He asked.

"After supper Matt," Lady Jaye replied, and the boy left the kitchen.

"He's got so big!" Scarlett exclaimed, "he was just a baby when I last saw him!"

"I know," Lady Jaye said fondly, "they grow up so quickly!"

***

Barricade pulled into the hanger as 22 was about to close the doors. The hole Barricade had made during the day had been very shakily patched up with corrugated iron strips.

He looked around the hanger and saw the Autobot Arcee sitting on the floor in her robot form listening to something the human Rocket was reading to her from a book.

As he drove closer he heard a little of what she was reading.

"And so her brother and his friend dashed into the room and struck down Bluebeard killing him, saving her from the same horrible fate as Bluebeard's previous wives. She married her brother's friend and they all lived happily ever after."

"That's horrible!" Arcee said after a few minutes of silence, "and you read that to your younglings?"

"I never did like this story myself," Rocket admitted.

"What are you two doing?" Barricade demanded.

"Rocket is showing me examples of human bedtime stories," Arcee replied, "care to join us?"

"Not on your life!" Barricade growled, but Frenzy pretty much flew out the window towards Rocket and Arcee.

He sat down next to Arcee and looked expectantly up at Rocket.

Barricade stared at him, a bit surprised.

Rocket and Arcee looked a him, a bit confused.

"Um, okay," Rocket muttered and turned to the next story, "so who wants to hear about Little Red Riding Hood?"

Frenzy raised a hand and shook it excitedly.

Barricade snorted at his partner's behaviour and went to recharge in a corner.

***

"What is the spy currently doing?" Cobra Commander asked one of the Troopers.

"She is reading bedtime stories to two of the robots sir!" The Trooper replied.

"I beg your pardon?" Cobra Commander said, confused.

***

"Its past midnight! I have to sleep!" Rocket groaned at Frenzy.

Frenzy wanted more stories read, one after the other. Even Arcee eventually went to recharge in a corner after the fifth one.

Grumbling, Frenzy got up and stalked to Barricade, but he was deep in recharge with his doors locked. Frenzy was stuck outside, he usually recharged inside of Barricade - like he used to do with Soundwave.

Frenzy looked back at Rocket expectantly.

"What?" She asked, tired and not feeling like dealing with a little mechanical robot.

"Fffrenzy ssstay with you?" He asked.

"Um," Rocket paused, she never minded sharing her bed with a dog, but somehow a spiky metal creature didn't quite seem the same to her.

"Ppplease?" Frenzy looked downcast.

"Just tonight!" Rocket said angrily, "and don't even think of hogging the blankets!"

Feeling happy, Frenzy latched himself to her back and Rocket carried him back to her quarters.

Later that night, Rocket with her head propped up on one arm, lay in bed looking at the recharging robot lying next to her.

He had hogged the blankets, and her teddy-bear Snoofy. He was currently hugging Snoofy tight to himself like Rocket usually held the stuffed toy.

She sighed quietly, Frenzy had just started snoring softly.

She flopped her head down onto the pillow and wrapped a arm around Frenzy - if he wanted to steal her teddy-bear - he could serve as a substitute! His body wasn't cold like she thought it would've been.

Frenzy begun muttering in his sleep, Rocket leaned closer to hear what he was saying.

"Soundwave," he muttered, "Rumble."

Wondering what that meant, Rocket drifted off to sleep.

***

"Isn't this sweet?" A voice jerked Rocket awake.

She glanced up and saw a moustached policeman standing with his arms crossed looking down at her and Frenzy.

Rocket looked at the alarm clock and saw it was 7am.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" The policeman asked, and flickered slightly.

"Barricade?" Rocket asked, shocked, "but how?"

"Hologram," he answered.

"What are you doing in my room?" Rocket asked.

"I woke up and Frenzy was missing, so I tracked down his signal," replied Barricade.

"How did you get in here? The door is locked!" Rocket pointed out.

"Hologram - can go through doors human," Barricade sighed at the lack of intelligence humans had.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Rocket said.

"Ask you to wake Frenzy up!" Barricade said, "we need to go on a mission."

Rocket looked down at Frenzy and shook him awake.

"What?" Frenzy said, half-asleep.

"Barricade wants you," said Rocket.

Frenzy's systems booted up and he came fully online. He saw Barricade's hologram waiting for him.

Barricade walked out of the room - his hologram passing through the door as if it wasn't there, Frenzy jumped up and followed.

Though - he left a hole in the door.

Rocket sighed at the hole, turned over and went back to sleep.

'Maybe if I stay in bed today - it won't be as bad as yesterday!' She thought as she closed her eyes.

TBC...


	11. Morning Trouble

Barricade glared at Frenzy, he had made up the lie about going on a mission so he could take the little robot somewhere quiet to yell at him.

"Of all the slag-headed things you could of done! Make friends with a flesh-bag, one that's a spy as well! Are your neural circuits even processing?"

Frenzy just sulked and ignored him - Barricade had smashed the laptop earlier to get his attention.

Barricade sighed, maybe it wasn't Frenzy's fault he was malfunctioning, Barricade wasn't a skilled medic - all he could do was quick repairs during battle so he could keep on fighting. The injuries to Frenzy's head were pretty severe, maybe he had missed something when he was putting Frenzy back together.

He transformed into his alternate mode, "get in," he ordered Frenzy.

Frenzy dragged his feet sulking as he walked towards Barricade.

Barricade revved his engine angrily and took off back to Cobra.

***

A loud smash jerked Rocket awake, the second time she had been rudely awakened that day.

"What?" She gasped as she shot up in bed and stared at the door.

It wasn't what you could call a door any more - a better way of describing it would be to call it a pile of splinters.

Stormshadow had kicked down what had remained of the door after Frenzy's morning accident.

"Oh shit!" Rocket whispered, Stormshadow was glowering in anger.

Had she mistaken her calculation that Cobra would keep her around to feed her false information?

"Get up!" Stormshadow ordered.

"What's going on?" Demanded Rocket, hoping Stormshadow was just in a very bad mood and not here to 'take care' of the spy.

"Cobra Commander has decided to rescind your rank of Propaganda Mistress," he snarled, "instead he has decided to make you my permanent student!"

"And you had to kick my door down to tell me that?" Rocket asked, feeling the adrenaline kick in from the fright she had just taken.

"Your training starts now!" Stormshadow hissed.

Rocket looked at the clock, it was half past eight, "I only need to get up at nine!" she pointed out to him.

"Not any more!" He said evilly, "from now on you get up at 4am every morning to commence training!"

"No way!" Rocket yelled, and turned over to go back to sleep.

This naturally ended with Stormshadow dragging a kicking and screaming Rocket (bedding included) towards the Subterranean base's dojo.

***

In the lounge, where only non-Trooper members of Cobra were allowed, Rocket's protests could be heard faintly as she was dragged to the dojo.

Firefly gave a smirk as he continued turning Destro's newspaper into a paper plane.

Machete, sitting watching him, asked, "so why did Cobra Commander do that with Rocket anyway?"

"Do you really need to ask a question with such a simple answer?" Destro remarked as he took one of Baroness's chess pieces.

Baroness hissed, and moved her knight.

"Come on, why?" Machete asked the room in general.

"It's simple," Firefly attempted to throw the plane, which flopped to the ground, "she is one of the enemy and how can we let our enemy handle our propaganda?"

"What do you mean?" Torched asked.

"She von't vrite anything good vor us," Baroness said, as she gave up playing against Destro.

"How is Zartan doing by the way?" Desto asked.

"They say he just needs a little rest," Buzzer replied, "and to never mention girl scouts near him in the future."

***

Hi-tech stretched in front of his desk, he had just stayed up all night making sure that his Sigma System was completely unhackable.

He smiled to himself - time for some well deserved sleep.

As he got up to leave for his quarters, the computer screen flickered.

Hi-tech stopped and stared suspiciously at the screen, dread in his heart.

The screen flickered again, and the face of a yellow and black robot appeared on it.

The robot saw him and waved happily.

"No!" Screamed Hi-tech, pointing angrily at the screen with a finger, "why do you keep doing this? Is it to torture me?"

The smile on the robot's face seemed to falter a bit at his reception.

Bumblebee recognised him as the scary looking human from yesterday.

"What's going on here HT?" Duke demanded as he entered the bridge holding a cup of coffee and a doughnut.

"They're hacking the system again - purposively to torture me!" Hi-tech sobbed, and sank down at his desk and buried his head in his arms.

Duke looked at Bumblebee, "what is your purpose here?" he asked.

"To torture me!" Came a strangled cry from Hi-tech.

"Are you Duke?" Asked Bumblebee, peering at the newcomer.

Duke nodded, "yes I am, do you wish to speak to me?"

"Yes, hold on for Commander Prime," Bumblebee said before disappearing off screen.

A new robotic face came on screen - it looked older and wiser than the first robot, it was also blue and red.

"Greetings, I am Optimus Prime, Commander of the Autobots. I apologise for hacking into your computer system again," Optimus introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Duke, in command of Sigma 6," Duke said, "may I ask why you have hacked us - again?"

"One of my soldiers, currently located with one of your team, reports that you may need help taking down some Decepticons while carrying out a plan against Cobra," explained Optimus, while noting what looked like a crying human in the corner of the bridge, "is he all right?"

"What?" Duke looked back, "oh him, don't worry he'll be all right soon. Your help against these Decepticons would be greatly appreciated."

Optimus suddenly disappeared from the screen and a bright yellow face replaced him, "so this is Arcee's new team! Great to meet you!"

"Hot Shot! What do you think you are doing?" A gruff voice off screen shouted, and a robotic arm grabbed the yellow robot by the back of his neck and pulled him off screen.

"Aw, Ironhide! I just wanted to say hi!"

"You can say hi to the brig if you try that stunt again!"

"You're no fun! You know that!"

"Don't you dare backchat me!"

Optimus came back on screen then, the background argument still present behind him.

"I apologise, Hot Shot is sometimes a little overeager at times," he sighed.

"Don't worry - once you have Tunnel Rat and Heavy Duty on your team you get used to everything!" Duke gave a slight smile, hiding his confusion of the strange interaction that had just occurred.

"We'll need to discuss details," Optimus pointed out.

"The plan is going down in a week, we need you to keep those Decepticons busy while we take care of the snakes," Duke replied.

"Snakes?" Optimus asked confused, "ah - slang for Cobra right?"

"You got that right - any idea on how you are going to distract the Decepticons?" Duke asked.

"I'll discuss with Arcee, rest assured that we'll deal with them for you," replied Optimus, "next week what time may I ask?"

"Saturday night in Megalo City," Duke replied.

"Good luck Duke," Optimus said and the screen flickered off.

Duke turned to Hi-tech, "maybe you ought to design a way for them to communicate with us without resorting to hacking?"

He hoped the challenge to build something would snap Hi-tech out of his misery.

He got a slight nod from the technician.

***

"Optimus, did you remember to give him your phone number?" Ratchet asked as he walked into the communication room.

"No, I forgot - Hot Shot distracted me," Optimus replied.

Ratchet had come up with a way of assimilating the Autobots with the sim cards of cellular phones - giving each Autobot their own phone number for the humans to contact if they needed them.

***

"There you are!" A voice called out in the dark.

Starscream sighed - just what he wanted - company.

Two seekers flew up to the asteroid and landed either side of their Air Commander.

"We've been worried!" The blue one proclaimed.

"No reports for ages! We thought you were all dead!" The black one said angrily.

"So what happened? Why are you sitting here all alone?" Thundercracker asked.

"Where are the others?" Demanded Skywarp.

"It's a long story that I don't feel like telling to you idiots!" Snarled Starscream angrily.

'Primus! Couldn't they see that a Con sitting alone on a asteroid in the middle of nowhere didn't want to be disturbed?' He thought as he glared at the two of them.

***

"Shockwave," Soundwave looked at the other Decepticon, "have you seen Thundercracker or Skywarp anywhere?"

"No sir!" Shockwave replied, looking back at the monosyllabic voiced Decepticon.

"They must of disobeyed my orders to stay on Cybertron!" Soundwave said as he stormed out of the room.

He would have to follow them in order to give them punishment, but in a way he was secretly glad he had been disobeyed. He could now go to Earth and be reunited with his cassette Frenzy. Soundwave was missing the little Decepticon, so were the other cassettes, especially Rumble.

Soundwave made up his mind, he stormed back to the room with Shockwave.

"Shockwave - you are in command of Cybertron until I return with Lord Megatron and the others!" He commanded and stormed out again to find the cassettes.

***

"Ow! I hurt all over!" Rocket whined as she crawled towards Arcee.

Stormshadow had given her an hour's break from training.

"What happened to you?" Arcee asked, feeling a bit concerned.

"I became Stormshadow's new punching bag, that's what!" Rocket groaned as she lay down on the floor next to Arcee.

"He is using you as a punching bag?" Arcee asked shocked.

"A figure of speech Arcee, he is not literally using me as a punching bag," Rocket explained, "but it sure feels like he is!"

Barricade drove up closer to observe the scene, watching humans in pain was one of his favourite forms of entertainment.

"Human," he asked, "do you usually train in clothes decorated with pink and purple rabbits?"

"What?" Rocket said, confused, and looked down at what she was wearing, "oh man! I forgot I didn't even get a chance to change out of my pyjamas this morning!"

One of the Troopers walking past gave a snigger when he looked at her.

"Rocket, I've been meaning to ask you this for some time," Arcee said, "but why do you and some of the other humans, notably Zartan and the Baroness, sound different to other humans? Do you have a speech malfunction?"

Rocket looked at Arcee from the floor, wondering what she was talking about.

"What do you mean?" She asked Arcee.

"She means accents human!" Barricade growled.

Rocket then understood what she was talking about.

"It's not a malfunction Arcee," Rocket started explaining, "when groups of people live apart from other groups of people, they develop their own particular accent. Don't you have that on Cybertron?"

"We have Autobot and we have Decepticon, war has been going on to long for accents to survive," Barricade said to Rocket.

"Different groups of people?" Arcee asked, "aren't you all the same?"

"We have different countries, Zartan has an Australian accent, Baroness has an Eastern European accent and me - I have a South African accent," Rocket replied.

"But you also sound sometimes like the majority of the other humans here?" Arcee said.

"That's because I left South Africa when I was fourteen and came to live in this country," Rocket responded.

"Why human?" Barricade asked.

"I don't like talking about my past," Rocket replied, a hint of sadness in her voice.

A lull in conservation lingered for a few minutes.

Rocket turned to Barricade, "speaking of pasts, who or what is Soundwave and Rumble?"

"How do you know of them?" Barricade snarled.

"Frenzy said their names last night while recharging," Rocket answered him.

"You could call them, as you humans say, his family," Barricade replied.

"So he is homesick?" Rocket asked.

"Don't be idiotic human!" Barricade growled and drove back to his corner.

Noting that the little Decepticon wasn't around, Rocket asked Arcee where he was.

"The Trooper you refer to as 22 has taken him to buy a new laptop, apparently Barricade broke the last one," replied Arcee.

"Oh," said Rocket, and she got up to resume her training with Stormshadow.

TBC...


	12. Travel Plans

"You mean they are all dead?" Thundercracker shrieked.

"And the Allspark? What happened to it?" Screamed Skywarp.

They had finally convinced Starscream through their continued nagging to tell them what had happened back on Earth.

"The Allspark was destroyed when it was used to kill Megatron," Starscream explained, while wishing for peace, "now will the two of you leave me alone!"

"Don't you want revenge on the Autobots Starscream?" Demanded Skywarp, while shaking his fist angrily.

"No, it would be pointless," Starcream sighed.

"This doesn't sound like you!" Thundercracker yelled, "what happened to the Decepticon who wanted to rule?"

"I believe Barricade may still be alive," Starscream revealed, "why don't you go bother him with your thoughts of vengeance?"

"Barricades alive?" Skywarp repeated stupidly.

"Why did you leave him behind?" Screamed Thundercracker angrily.

"Dead weight, I wouldn't have been able to lift him through the atmosphere safely enough for the both of us!" Snarled Starscream.

"So you left him behind like the coward you are!" Skywarp accused him angrily.

Starscream launched himself off the ground where he was sitting, grabbed Skywarp by the shoulders, put his face uncomfortably close to Skywarp's, and hissed, "don't you ever call me a coward again!"

***

"Flint! Have you sent the invites?" Lady Jaye yelled down the passage, when she heard the front door open.

"No, I just felt like going for a walk in the rain!" He yelled back sarcastically.

"Come here and help me decide on the menu!" She yelled at him, as she flipped through the caterer's catalogue.

"Duke," Flint muttered under his breath, "what ever happened to our agreement to no reunions?" And slowly made his way to the kitchen.

***

"Your form is off - do it again!" Stormahadow yelled at Rocket.

Grumbling, Rocket started doing the kata - for the millionth time that day it seemed.

***

Ironhide paused what he was doing, Hot Shot and Bumblebee were being quiet, too quiet for his liking. They were hunched over a computer, discussing things under their breath to each other as they typed.

"What are you two up too?" He demanded as he walked towards them.

They instantly switched off the monitor and tried to act nonchalant - raising Ironhide's suspicion even more.

"Nothing Ironhide," Hot Shot said as he examined the wall opposite him.

Ironhide locked optics on Bumblebee - he would break first.

Bumblebee looked away and tried not to feel Ironhide's optics boring into him.

"You're just too suspicious in your old age," Hot Shot said, trying to draw attention away from his partner in crime.

Ironhide growled, "show me what you are doing on that computer now!" He demanded.

"No!" Hot Shot replied, standing defensively in front of the computer in question.

"Just leave them alone," Ratchet spoke up, as he looked away from his research on cybernetic parts for humans.

"These two are up to no good! I can feel it in my circuits!" Ironhide growled, not taking his optics off the two younger Autobots.

Bumblebee shook his head, "I'm sorry Ironhide, but you'll only find out later when we are finished."

"Exactly," Hot Shot agreed, "now please go away so we can continue with our work!"

Ironhide glared at the two of, "when I find out whatever mischief you two are doing…" he left his threat hanging as he walked off angrily.

Ratchet looked at the two of them, "may I ask what you two are working on?"

Hot Shot made to shake his head but Bumblebee kicked his shin.

"Ow! What was that for?" He demanded angrily.

"Ratchet can help us with our research!" Bumblebee explained.

The two young Autobots looked back at the medic eagerly.

'Primus, what have I let myself in for?' Ratchet thought as the two approached him, scary smiles on their faces.

***

Duke looked at the invite, he had picked up the team's invites when he had gone in to visit Hawk in hospital - telling him of their plan.

The invite was a standard looking one, a bit rushed due to the short notice and the time it had been made in (one night). You could see that someone had typed out the invites and then had written information in that wasn't available before printing.

Like the venue, Lady Jaye had only managed to book a place in the morning.

Megolo City Hotel, the invite stated where the reunion would be held.

The invites had been sent expressed delivery and on overnight mail, some had even been emailed.

'Well, there is no backing out now,' he thought glumly, 'Flint forgive me - you must be in hell right now!'

***

Overkill groaned, and opened his eyes.

He was lying in front of the hanger, but those walking around were ignoring him.

Well, trying to ignore him, it wasn't easy ignoring a groaning cyborg lying on the ground - threat from Cobra Commander or not!

He wondered briefly how he ended up in his current location, he could've sworn his 'birthday present' threw him further than this.

'They're just ignoring him!' Jinx hissed from her hiding spot.

The ninjas had dropped Overkill off in the middle of the night in front of the hanger.

"I guess it isn't only us who hate him," Kamakura whispered back.

Snake-eyes made a quick hand movement - signalling their retreat back to the Sea Titan.

***

"Hey," Scarlett said, taking a mouthful of her coffee, "where is the ninja team?"

"I think they're training in the dojo," Hi-tech replied, no longer depressed, he was working on a new invention.

"Oh," Scarlett said, "I had a crazy feeling we had forgotten them on a mission or something!" She laughed.

Duke looked up from the invite, shock on his face from the sudden realisation that they had, "oh damn, we did!"

***

"I can't believe the state of the security in this base!" Prowl growled angrily.

He was looking over the security installations that the Autobots had added to their base, and he wasn't liking what he found.

"But Prowl," Optimus tried.

"No buts Optimus! This place is a sitting duck!" Yelled Prowl, "it's a good thing I came along in time!"

He pointed at a computer screen.

"Did you get humans to design these defences!" He jabbed angrily at the screen with a finger to emphasise to Optimus how bad the base's security was.

Optimus decided it was no good to argue with him, and quietly slipped out the room to let Prowl get on with fixing the problems.

He nearly made it to the end of the corridor before Prowl noticed he was missing.

"Prime! You get back in this office now!"

***

Soundwave counted each cassette as they climbed into the space shuttle.

"Where is Ravage?" He demanded angrily.

Rumble's face took on an innocent expression.

"Rumble - go free Ravage from wherever you have trapped him, then report back here for punishment!" Soundwave ordered the cassette.

He sighed, the trip hadn't even started yet and already he was having problems.

***

Starscream had retreated to the other side of the asteroid after his outburst at Skywarp.

Thundercracker glanced at his back and nudge Skywarp. The two of them huddled together to discuss plans.

Starscream ignored them, nothing the two of them could say would convince him to return to Earth.

"Hey Starscream!" Thundercracker called and walked up to him.

Skywarp stayed back, he'd let Thundercracker do the talking.

Starscream pretended he couldn't hear Thundercracker calling him.

Undeterred, Thundercracker sat down next to him.

"Skywarp and I were discussing something important," he started.

"That would be a first!" Starscream replied sarcastically.

This didn't bother Thundercracker - Starscream at least was talking and not completely ignoring him.

"Well anyway," Thundercracker continued as if there had been no interruption, "we were just wondering who the next leader of the Decepticons would be - seeing as Megatron is dead."

He saw Starscream shoot him a sidelong glance, but keep quiet.

'That's got his attention,' Thundercracker thought to himself with satisfaction.

"It'll probably be Soundwave, seeing as he is on Cybertron and you are sitting on a rock in space," he said aloud.

Starscream shifted himself slightly, not daring to let his thoughts be heard on the subject of Soundwave being leader.

"They'll never accept me," Starscream said, "they'll say I'm just trying to overthrow Megatron - they won't believe me that he is dead."

"I see your problem," Thundercracker responded, "is that why you are here and not on Cybertron?"

"What do you know?" Starscream snarled.

Starscream admitted to himself that was why he was sitting on a rock doing nothing, the only company being Autobots as they passed in their protoforms towards their new home. He could've used them as target practise to relieve his boredom but he knew Prime wouldn't have hesitated sending a few mechs to take of him if he did that.

"You know what you have to do of course?" Thundercracker asked, "to take care of this problem?'

"What are you talking about?" Snarled Starscream.

"Retrieve Barricade of course," Thundercracker replied, smugness in his voice, "then it won't only be your word. Barricade can vouch for you as well!"

"They won't believe just two of us," Starscream shot down his idea.

"Then why don't you find Megatron's body then? That'll convince them!" Thundercracker tried, not wanting his plan to be a failure.

"The Autobots have probably melted him down by now," Starscream sounded a bit dejected.

"Fine, grab a high-ranking Autobot and make them tell the others!" Thundercracker was beginning to get desperate.

"I don't think that'll work," Starscream said, after musing this idea over for a bit.

"All right, just thought you'd make a better leader than Soundwave," Thundercracker decided to try his luck, "I guess all those speeches of yours were just hot steam!"

Starscream couldn't take it any longer - Soundwave in his, Starscream's, rightful place as head of the Decepticons was making his energon boil!

He stood up, "we leave for Earth now!"

Thundercracker and Skywarp gave each other a hi-five, their plan to retrieve Megatron's body and Barricade - not to mention getting vengence against the Autobots was about to start.

Tricking Starscream into leading them was almost too easy - power hungry Decepticon.

It would take them about a week to reach Earth.

***

Rocket stepped over the debris of her door, it had been a long, hard day and she was ready for bed.

Only problem was that Frenzy already occupied it.

He was sitting on her bed, waiting for her and hugging Snoofy. He also had some typewritten pages in one hand.

"What do you want?" She demanded tiredly.

"Rrrocket rrread bedtime ssstories!" He cried happily, waving the pages in his hand.

She didn't feel like arguing with him and just nodded, before going to the en-suite bathroom to shower and get ready for bed.

When she came out, Frenzy was already in bed waiting for her to read to him.

"I hope this isn't going to happen every night!" She said to him, as she got into the bed.

Frenzy cuddled up to her and gave her the pages.

"What is this?" She asked as she took them.

"Bedtime ssstories from Cybertron!" Frenzy explained.

He already knew them, Soundwave used to tell them to the cassettes before they went into recharge, but he wanted to be read to again like Soundwave used to read and had printed them out for Rocket.

Rocket glanced through them, 'at least he translated to English for me!' She thought as she settled down to read.

Frenzy rested his head on one of her arms, using it as a pillow.

Clearing her voice, Rocket began to read.

"Long ago there were two brothers. Primus - full of light and goodness, Unicron - full of darkness and evil."

TBC...


	13. Dilemma

Scarlett sat at her desk, one finger absently tapping on the desk while she tried to work out a solution to her problem.

It wasn't a easy one, how do you invite Cobra to a party without letting them know that you know that they know about the party?

If Cobra knew that Sigma 6 knew that Cobra was coming, Cobra would suspect a trap - or otherwise get suspicious about the fact that Sigma 6 wasn't too bothered about the fact their enemy knew they would off guard at a party.

Also, Cobra might not use the opportunity as a trap - if they knew that Sigma 6 knew about them knowing about the party - Sigma 6 would be prepared for Cobra's attack.

So Scarlett sat and pondered what to do.

***

Rocket was in heaven - there were double cheese burgers everywhere!

Her mouth watered as she reached out to grab the nearest one floating around her… and woke up with a scream as she got drenched in cold water.

She stared into the gloom of her room to identify her assailant, a dark figure with a bucket in it's hands.

"What part of your training starts at 4am did you not understand?" Stormshadow demanded, dropping the bucket onto the floor.

Rocket took a glance at the clock's luminous face, "but its only 2am!" She moaned.

"See the worry in my eye!" Snarled back Stormshadow.

"My alarm is set for 3am! Why did you have to wake me up early?" Rocket felt like crying, her body was stiff and sore from yesterday's training.

"We have a mission today! We eat now, start training at 4am and get our mission briefing at 8am," Stormshadow replied, skipping the explanation for the early wake-up call.

Frenzy, oblivious to all that had past, gave a loud snore and rolled over. Drawing Stormshadow's attention to the tiny Decepticon.

"What the hell is that thing doing sleeping in your bed?" He demanded.

"He's just homesick, that's all!" Rocket said.

Stormshadow just gave her a 'look' and left the room.

Rocket gave a sigh, it was no good going back to sleep for an hour - not in a soaking wet bed that is. She got put of bed and got changed into some clothes more suitable for training in than her pajamas. Looking down at the recharging Frenzy, Rocket gently scooped him up into her arms and went to deposit him in Barricade.

***

Barricade felt off, Frenzy hadn't come to recharge in him last night and he didn't like the empty feeling he had the entire night. The first night he didn't mind, Frenzy was starting to have nightmares inside of him during recharge and Barricade wasn't the gentlest when it came to calming others down. But now, the second night, it was bothering him to no end.

That's why he was actually relieved to see the human Rocket carrying a recharging Frenzy towards him, albeit the recharging Frenzy was clutching something that looked like a teddy bear to Barricade.

He swung open his backdoor and allowed the human to place Frenzy on his backseat.

"We have to do something about this!" The human remarked as she walked away.

Barricade couldn't agree with her more.

"And I want Snoofy back when Frenzy wakes up!"

'Snoofy?' Barricade thought, puzzled.

***

The hours leading up to the 8am mission briefing passed in pain for Rocket, but it was finally time. Rocket barely had time to change into her uniform before she had to be in the throne room. She and the Dreadnoks were told to wait outside of the throne room while the details of the mission were told to Stromshadow and Zartan.

Zartan had just been discharged from the base's hospital.

The two men came out of the throne room without and word and headed on the direction of the hanger. Rocket and the Dreadnoks ran after them as they swept past.

No one said anything until they were in the hanger, and Buzzer's curiosity got to much.

"So what are we doing?" He asked excitedly.

"Cobra Commander wants the robo-mutt again!" Zartan replied.

"What robo-mutt?" Rocket asked, feigning confusion - of course she knew what they were talking about.

"S.P.U.D.D, the robo-mutt of Hawk's son," Zartan explained, "of course this time we bring the kid with us so that he can't alert the Sigmas."

"I don't see why I have to bring you lot along," said Stormshadow, "I managed to get it fine by myself the last time!"

Rocket wondered how she would be able to slip away quickly to warn Duke, she felt so stupid - this was why she wasn't allowed in the throne room and no one was giving her a chance to get away.

"We leave immediately!" Stormshadow announced.

"In a cruiser?" Rocket asked hopeful, she would be able to find a quiet place on board to contact Duke.

"No, we go in him!" Zartan pointed at Barricade.

"What?" Both Barricade and Rocket yelled at the same time.

"Are you crazy?" Rocket demanded, "there is no way in hell we are all going to fit!"

"I'm not having any flesh-bags having joy rides in me!" Barricade snarled.

"Shut up both of you!" Stormshadow yelled, "first off," he pointed at Barricade, "you are now a member of Cobra and will follow your orders to the letter!" He turned to Rocket, "you either travel inside the car somehow or in the boot! You choice!"

Rocket bit her bottom lip in frustration, this was just another plot to prevent her from contacting Sigma 6, there was no way she could do it in a crowded car. She noticed the Dreadnoks staring at her.

"What?" She snapped at them.

"Just thinking," said Machte, "that in order for us to all fit, you are going to have to sit on one of our laps!.

The Dreadnoks all grinned.

"Is the boot option still available?" Rocket asked Stormshadow in desperation.

Stormshadow shook his head evilly.

Zartan turned to Barricade, "we didn't pick you for the fun of it. You are actually needed in this mission."

"How?" Barricade asked.

In reply, Zartan activated his body suit - disguising himself as a police officer.

"Everybody in!" Ordered Stormshadow.

He and Zartan took the front seats while the Dreadnoks piled into the back. Machete patted his lap inviting Rocket to sit down.

Rocket sighed, and was suddenly knocked off her feet by Frenzy launching himself into her arms.

Frenzy turned his head round and glared at the Dreadnoks, who quickly squeezed themselves up to make enough room for Rocket (holding Frenzy) to sit comfortably.

They weren't going to miss around with a girl and her robot.

Before getting into Barricade, Rocket looked at Arcee and hope she saw the wink Rocket gave her to contact Optimus to tell Duke what was going on.

Barricade, with all passengers aboard and with Zartan at the wheel sped out the hanger.

Arcee didn't need Rocket to ask her, she was already talking to Optimus.

***

Duke sat in his chair on the bridge, on one side of him was Hi-tech working on something technical, on the other side sat a brooding Scarlett - still trying to come up with a plan.

The main computer screened flickered and Hi-tech gave a small sigh, "they are hacking in again."

Duke gave Hi-tech an apprehensive look, but the young technician didn't look like he was going to freak out again.

The screen gave another flicker and the face of Optimus Prime faded in.

"Greetings Duke," Optimus said.

"Hi Optimus, is there anything we can do for you?" Duke asked.

"No, I've come to alert you to something your spy was unable was unable to tell you about," Optimus replied.

Duke felt a twinge of fear, "is Rocket okay?"

Why was she unable to report in?

"Do not worry," said Optimus, "she is all right as far as Arcee has told me, but this matter I must tell you about is urgent according to Arcee."

"What is it?" Asked Duke.

"Cobra is on their way to steal, and I quote from Arcee, a robo-mutt named S.P.U.D.D," replied Optimus, his voice sounding just a bit curious as to what a robo-mutt looked like.

"That means Scott is in danger!" Hi-tech interrupted.

"That's great!" Yelled Scarlett.

Everyone including Optimus turned to stare at her.

"I mean its not great," Scarlett explained, "but its useful! A solution to my problem!"

"Care to illustrate what you mean?" Duke asked puzzled.

"Scott has an invite! Cobra is coming after his dog! Tell Scott to lose his invite to Cobra!" Scarlett sounded victorious.

"Okay," and Duke had been worried about Hi-tech's sanity.

"I'll leave you to your work," Optimus said, thinking he ought to leave before any of this weirdness infects his crew, "here is my phone number by the way if you need to contact me."

A number appeared in the bottom of the screen, which Hi-tech quickly wrote down wondering why a giant robot needed a cell phone.

Optimus faded from the screen.

"Hi-tech!" Duke ordered, "get hold of Scott and warn him Cobra is on its way, um, also tell him to make sure Cobra grabs hold of his party invite!"

Hi-tech busied himself with his job.

"Scarlett," Duke turned to her, "take a team out to Scott's school and wait for the snakes to show up. I suggest you take the ninja team as well!"

Snake-eyes and his students had arrived back the previous evening.

***

"Soundwave!" Laserbeak cawed as she flew up to him, "Rumble stole my paints and won't give them back!"

"She started it!" Rumble called out, "she wouldn't share them with me!"

"Um, Soundwave," this was Ravage, "I think Ratbat is going to be sick!"

"Oh Primus no!" Screamed Buzzsaw, as Ratbat spilled his regurgitated energon onto the unfortunate cassette.

Soundwave rejected the impulse to offline all of his cassettes and pulled over to the nearest asteroid to sort the mess out.

Unfortunately it was already occupied.

"Taking your brats out for a day-trip?" Starscream remarked sarcastically as he watched Soundwave trying to clean up Buzzsaw and Ratbat.

"I'm on my way to Earth to meet up with Frenzy if you must know!" Soundwave replied as he proceeded to clean the shuttle.

"Can we hitch a lift?" Asked Thundercracker, not realising that Rumble was painting dirty words onto his back.

"What and travel with those things?" Skywarp asked as Laserbeak flapped around him.

"It'll save time on our journey," mused Starscream.

Soundwave pondered the choice, on one hand he'll have annoying seekers, on the other he'll have baby-sitters for the cassettes while he'll be piloting the shuttle.

"Fine," Soundwave agreed, finally finished cleaning the shuttle.

The seekers boarded and Soundwave took off again.

***

"Stop digging your elbow into my ribs!" Shouted Torch.

"I can't help it, Machete is encroaching into my space!" Screamed back Buzzer.

"At least you two don't have a metal creature sitting next to you!" Yelled Machete.

Barricade slammed on his brakes.

"If you three flesh-bags don't shut-up and sit still I will leave on the side of the road! Do I make myself clear?" Barricade shouted.

The three Dreadnoks nodded silently and Barricade started driving again.

***

It was quiet, too quiet for Soundwave's liking. Maybe he and Ironhide were alike in that respect - they got suspicious if things got quiet.

He put the shuttle into auto-pilot and went to investigate what was going on.

The three seekers were passed out in recharge, along with Ratbat.

'So much for them being baby-sitters!' Soundwave thought as he walked past them.

He'd put Ratbat into recharge himself to counter Ratbat's sudden development of travel sickness.

Soundwave proceeded to the back of the shuttle.

"What the slag do you think you are doing?" His voice held more emotion than it ever had in years.

Buzzsaw and Laserbeak were holding down Ravage while Rumble was welding Ravage's tail to the floor.

The three of them looked up guiltily, while Ravage looked up with relief.

Soundwave's yell had brought the seekers out of recharge and running to see what was going on.

Thundercracker and Skywarp burst out laughing at the scene and Starscream wore a smirk.

"That's it!" Soundwave yelled, "everyone sits in their chair with their safety belt fastened and if I hear even one sound out of any of you I will leave you all on the nearest asteroid! Do I make myself clear?"

Too scared to take on a pissed off Soundwave, they went meekly to their seats and kept quiet. The only exception was Ravage.

"I'll set you free when we get to Earth," Soundwave promised him, voice going back to its usual monotone.

Ravage had no choice but to sit there.

***

Barricade pulled to a stop outside of a high school, letting Stormshadow, Rocket, Frenzy and the Dreadnoks out.

"Right then," Zartan said, "everyone know the plan?"

They nodded, but Rocket could see a gigantic flaw - but she wasn't going to let on.

The plan was to trick Scott and S.P.U.D.D with the fake police car and policeman, but everyone seemed not to notice the large Cobra insignia painted on Barricade's bonnet.

They moved off into position in order to repel an attack from Sigma 6 if they happened to show up.

Rocket noticed that Stormshadow wasn't letting her out of his sight.

They crouched down, hiding among the cars in the parking lot.

Rocket hiding behind a yellow Mazda RX-8.

School was out, that was how long it took them to travel from the base to the high school.

Soon Rocket spotted him, a red-head with a robotic dog, coming out of the school building.

He was alone except for a few friends, all the other students had rushed out to go home already, but not much was waiting for Scott at home, so he didn't hurry.

From her vantage point, Rocket observed Barricade and Zartan pulled up alongside Scott.

'Show time,' she thought and pulled out one of her two handguns.

TBC...


	14. Happy Hot Shot

22 heard a knock on the hanger doors, it was a knock he had been expecting all day. Even Cobra Commander was waiting in the hanger for this knock.

"Don't stand there making them wait!" He yelled at 22, looking impatient.

22 hurried to the hanger door and pulled it open, revealing a Sunshine Squirrel Girl with a truckload of biscuits.

It was Tuesday, the day of delivery had finally arrived.

***

Rocket placed a hand on the Mazda she was hiding behind and felt it tremble. She looked closer at it but it wasn't the same yellow car she saw the other when she met the Autobots.

'My imagination must be going overboard now that I about transforming robots,' she thought as she dismissed the car's movement from her mind.

'Doesn't this human know how cold her hands are, even through her gloves?' Hot Shot thought as he shivered.

Optimus had sent him as backup in case Cobra had brought Barricade along on their mission, and by the looks of it - they had.

***

Scott watched as Barricade pulled up to the steps he was standing.

"Don't they know how obvious it looks that they are Cobra?" Asked Zephyr, a girl who had a long time crush on Scott asked, pointing out the Cobra symbol on Barricade's bonnet.

"I don't think they realised," Scott replied, "Cobra isn't the most intelligent organisation around."

It was just the two of them, their other two friends had raced off already, yelling something about pizza and a horror movie marathon.

"That cop looks pretty realistic," Zephyr commented.

"That's probably Zartan," Scott said taking a closer look.

"That alien freak from Cape Douglass?" Zephyr asked, remembering their last encounter with Cobra, "that guy was a moron!"

The two of them stood at the top of the steps as they watched Barricade stopped below them, while S.P.U.D.D put his ears back and gave a soft whine.

"Excuse me," the pseudo cop called to Scott, "but are you Scott Abernathy?"

"Yes, what can I do for you officer?" Scott and Zephyr suppressed their laughter at Cobra's plan.

"I've got bad news son," Zartan said gravely, "but your father has taken a turn for the worse, I've been instructed to take you to the hospital!"

"My father," Scott asked, "did he give you the secret word?"

Of course there was no secret word, he had just asked that to see Zartan's reaction.

"What secret word?" Zartan asked slowly.

"The one so that I know the message is from him," replied Scott.

"Listen son, your father didn't have time to give us any secret word to tell you!" Zartan said, trying not to snarl.

"I don't know," Scott said, pretending to think about going with Zartan.

Zartan got out of Barricade, "come down here and lets talk about it."

"How about no?" Scott said, looking down the steps at Zartan.

"Why not?" Zartan demanded, getting angry.

"Well, first of all, you are Zartan and second my dad isn't in any danger!" Scott pointed out to him.

"How did you know who I was?" Zartan snarled as he transformed back into his usual look.

"Your car gave you away!" Zephyr called out, pointing to Barricade.

Zartan turned and groaned when he saw the Cobra sign on Barricade's bonnet - he'd forgotten completely about it.

"Whatever kid," he snarled, "you and your robo-mutt are coming with me!"

"I don't think so!" A voice called out and Jinx and Kamakura burst out of a bush they had been hiding in, trailing leaves behind them.

Snake Eyes dropped silently from the roof where he had been hiding.

Scarlett and Long Range stepped out of the school building, while Tunnel Rat came out of a manhole in the parking lot.

"Sigmas!" Zartan snarled angrily.

"Looks like you're outnumbered Zartan!" Scarlett remarked as she raised her crossbow.

"Think again," the Dreadnoks leapt up from where they were hiding among the cars.

"Come on!" Stormshadow hissed in Rocket's ear and the two of them ran off to the side of the school building.

"Why are you so slow?" Stormshadow asked angrily, looking back at Rocket.

"It's not my fault - I'm feeling lethargic! I think there must be a power stone near by!" She hissed back.

"What does a power stone have to do with you being slow?" He asked, confused.

"Um, I'm allergic to them," Rocket felt like kicking herself admitting that to Cobra.

"Why would a power stone be here?" Stormshadow didn't quite believe her.

"There is one - if fact, it's between your feet!" Rocket pointed to the tip of a power stone that lay buried in the ground.

"Well, well, wonders never cease," Stormshadow remarked and got out one of his kunai and began to dig the power stone out.

Rocket watched him, as the sounds of the battle raged on around them. She caught sight of the two teenagers and S.P.U.D.D running to get to a safe place.

"Here take this!" Stormshadow ordered, the power stone in his hand.

"No," Rocket said, backing away, "you want me to touch something that is sucking me dry of energy - are you mad?"

Stormshadow gave her a glare and ran towards the battle, holding onto the power stone. Rocket following a discreet distance behind.

***

Hot Shot wanted to join in the battle, but Optimus had given him strict instructions not to do anything unless Barricade started fighting.

Said Decepticon had retreated to the back of the parking lot with Frenzy, waiting for orders and not wanting to get flesh bag on his gears.

Still Hot Shot, wondered if Optimus's orders stretched to that floating robot that one of the Cobra's had summoned from somewhere.

***

Rocket stared up in shock at Overlord Vector, "how did that thing get here?"

"It was on standby in case we needed," Stormshadow answered.

It was at that moment the Sigma 6 ninjas noticed the Cobra ninjas.

"Brother!" Stormshadow snarled, "our battle ends today!"

He and Snake Eyes flew at each other and begun their battle.

Rocket was left facing Jinx and Kamakura.

"I suppose we ought to make this look real?" She asked resignedly.

The two of them nodded and drew their weapons, Rocket holstered her gun and instead drew out her sai.

The two lots of students charged.

***

"Brother, you are weak!" Stormshadow mocked as Snake Eyes was slammed into a wall by him.

Snake Eyes responded by throwing shurikens.

Stormshadow dodged them, but got sliced in the arm by Snake Eye's katana while he was distracted by the shurikens.

It was the arm holding the power stone, Stormshadow dropped it and Snake Eyes caught it.

"That power stone belongs to Cobra!" Snarled Stormshadow as he chased after Snake Eyes to get the power stone back.

Snake Eyes spotted Scarlett and threw the power stone to her, she barely caught when Stormshadow flew past and grabbed it out of her hands.

Snake Eyes took another option, to destroy the power stone instead of capturing it.

***

"Hey, do you think they've forgotten about us?" Scott asked.

"I think so," Zephyr replied, peering at the battle from where they were hiding, "I think they are fighting over some stone now."

"Typical," Scott responded.

***

Rocket was backed up against Barricade, Jinx and Kamakura having cornered her. She still wasn't feeling great thanks to the power stone.

Barricade wasn't to happy with the shurikens and kunai hitting him, even though he had to admit the ninjas had excellent speed for flesh bags.

Rocket glanced up and saw Snake Eyes take aim with the lasers on his arm and fire at the power stone.

"Oh shit!" She screamed as the power stone exploded.

She leapt through Barricade's open window, "get us out of here now before that blast hits us!" She glanced at the shock wave approaching the, "now! Before we both die!"

Barricade didn't wait to ask why, and sped out of the parking lot and fell down a fell metres onto the perfectly kept sports field, the blast passing over them safely.

"Care to explain?" Barricade ask, "the other humans don't seem to have been affected by the blast."

"Well, as the only human alive that seems to be allergic to power stones, that blast would've killed me. You I'm not too sure, blasts from exploding power stones usually short out our electric equipment while it turns B.A.T.S into berserkers. I hate to know what it would have done to you."

Rocket glanced up and saw Scott and Zephyr staring at her as if she was crazy - talking to a car.

"Speaking about B.A.T.S going berserk - Overlord Vector must be attacking everyone up there, you need to go stop it!" Rocket said urgently.

"Why should I do that?" Barricade asked.

"Because it is attacking members of Cobra as well!" Replied Rocket.

Barricade sighed, and open his door to let Rocket and Frenzy out so he could transform.

"Whoa!" Scott said as he watched the Decepticon rise up.

***

"Snake Eyes you moron!" Tunnel Rat yelled as he dodged an attack from Overlord Vector.

Snake Eyes had to admit to himself that maybe his idea wasn't such a good one, as he and Stormshadow forgot about their battle and concentrated on fighting the berserk B.A.T.

Hot Shot felt weird, the blast swept over him and his systems had temporally gone offline, but now he seemed to buzz with an unknown energy… and it felt good.

It made him feel unbeatable - the strongest Cybertronian ever!

He noticed that the floating B.A.T had gone berserk, and that the humans needed help. Surely Optimus wouldn't object to him coming to their aid? Not to mention it would give him a chance to try out this new power flowing through him.

He transformed, blue sparks racing over his body as he moved towards the B.A.T.

Barricade and Rocket stood and stared where they had climbed back up onto the parking lot.

There was Hot Shot - tearing the Overlord Vector apart and making it look as if the B.A.T was built out of candy floss.

Taking advantage of the robot battle, Stormshadow and Zartan ran up to Barricade.

"Quick, get us out here!" Zartan ordered.

Barricade duly complied, although he wanted to take on that Autobot, he wasn't so sure. The Autobot looked like he had been given an extremely large power boost.

"Where are the Dreadnoks?" Rocket ask as she jumped into the back with Frenzy.

"Don't know, don't care," Stormshadow replied as Barricade tore out of the parking lot.

"What was that blast?" Barricade asked, as he swerved through traffic.

"That was a power stone exploding, I never thought Snake Eyes would go to such lengths though," answered Stormshadow.

"How did you even find a power stone?" Zartan asked confused.

"It seems Rocket here neglected to tell us she could sense power stones!" Stormshadow snarled.

"Hey, I can't sense them! I'm allergic to them!" Rocket said angrily.

"Whatever, you can still figure out where they are located," Stomshadow pointed out.

"How the hell do you become allergic to a stone? I mean its a rock!" Zartan said, still feeling a bit puzzled.

"Don't ask me!" Rocket said, "that one has been puzzling me for a while too."

"Just what is a power stone?" Barricade growled.

"It's a stone that holds a lot of energy - we use them to power some of our equipment," replied Zartan.

Stormshadow sat back, he was waiting for the chance to kill Rocket, but with this new development she could turn out useful in the power stone hunt.

Barricade contemplated the power stone concept, if he could turn them into energon - what would it taste like?

***

Scarlett stared at the wreckage of Overlord Vector, then at the towering figure of Hot Shot. This was the first Autobot she had met.

"Um, thanks?" She said, not too sure if he hadn't turned berserk as well.

"What was that blast?" Hot Shot asked, "I feel great!"'

The Sigmas continued to stare as Hot Shot bounced around the parking lot, crushing a few cars as he did so.

"Oh man," Tunnel Rat remarked, looking around him, "this place is smashed!"

Scarlett had to agree, the school building was barely standing and there was hardly a car in the parking lot that had survived unmarked.

Scott and Zephyr ran up to them.

"What the hell is going on?" Scott asked, confused.

"Why are there transforming robots everywhere?" Zephyr asked, also confused.

"Would you believe me if I told you they were from out of space amigo?" Long Range said.

"Forget about explaining about the Transformers!" Scarlett suddenly yelled, "what about your invite Scott? Does Cobra have it?"

"Yes, I "accidentally" tripped and my book bag with the invite in it went flying through the police car's window," Scott replied, with a smug look on his face.

"Yeah," said Zephyr, "along with your homework and that bad test score you were supposed to show your father!"

"Relax Zephyr - there is no way the teachers won't believe my excuse about being attacked by giant robots this time!" Scott grinned as he swept a hand around him, showing off the destruction.

Scarlett just shook her head.

***

The Dreadnoks had been busy battling Tunnel Rat and Long Range when they heard 'it'.

The sound of an ice-cream truck.

They looked at each other guiltily before charging out of the fight to chase the truck down, they manage to catch up with it two blocks away.

After threatening the owner of the truck to give them free ice-creams, the three of them returned to the school. Only to discover everyone but a bouncing Autobot had gone.

"What do we do now?" Torch asked, as they watched Hot Shot do a cartwheel.

"I suppose we have to walk back," Buzzer replied, as Hot Shot began walking on his hands.

"At least we have ice-cream," Machete remarked happily as they left Hot Shot doing backflips.

"I'm a Autobot ninja!" Hot Shot yelled happily.

***

"Hey, what's this?" Stormshadow snarled as he feet brushed against something on the floor.

"The human youngling threw it into me as he ran away," replied Barricade, as Stormshadow lifted up the book bag.

"Guess someone doesn't want to do his homework!" Smirked Zartan.

Stormshadow started scratching through the bag, "I wonder what they are being taught nowadays," he said as he pulled out what looked like a test.

Rocket glanced at the mark, "ten out of thirty for English?" She exclaimed, shocked that anyone could get such a low mark for her favourite subject.

"Not everyone is good like you are when it comes to the written word," admonished Zartan.

Rocket scowled but kept quiet, Frenzy was using her as a pillow.

Stormshadow pulled out a envelope next and opened it to read its contents.

"Dear General Hawk and Scott

You are cordially invited to a G.I Joe and Sigma 6 reunion!

Date: This coming Saturday on the 5th - yeah we know its short notice

Venue: Megalo City Hotel: Ballroom

Time: 19:30 for 20:00

Dress: Smart Casual

R.S.V.P: You know our phone number!

Hope to see you there!

Love Lady Jaye and Flint!"

"What's that?" Rocket asked, curious.

"Nothing," replied Stormshadow and put the invite in a safe place.

Rocket said nothing and carried on looking at the scenery through the window.

'Do you have any plans for Saturday?" Stormshadow asked her casually.

"Nope," Rocket replied, inwardly grinning as she knew what Stormshadow had just found.

A sudden idea struck her, "hey, can I borrow Barricade after he drops you off at the base?"

"Why?" Zartan asked suspicious.

"I think I know a way to give us both a good nights sleep," she replied.

"What?" Zartan asked confused now.

"Don't ask," Stormshadow said.

"Fine," Barricade said, "I don't care what you humans have to say - I'm curious to see what this plan is!"

Stormshadow said nothing, anything was okay - so long as he didn't have to walk in and find Rocket sharing a bed with a robot again. He gave a small shudder, homesickness - yeah right!

Zartan, decided to say nothing, but he was extremely curious and confused about what was going on.

Frenzy, decided against making his thoughts on the subject known - but this plan better not involve pain!

TBC...


	15. Prowl and Barricade

Rocket and Barricade had dropped the others, including Frenzy, off at the hanger. Frenzy wasn't too happy about this and was having a screaming fit as they drove off.

"So human, what is this plan?" Barricade asked as they entered the nearest town.

"You'll see," Rocket replied, as she looked for a specific type of store.

***

"Optimus please report to the med lab," Ratchet's voice came over the comm-link in Optimus's office.

Optimus gave a sigh, and got up to find out what was wrong, he didn't want to go as Hot Shot had just returned from his mission and Optimus was waiting for a report from him.

'I suppose he'll just have to wait in my office till I get back,' Optimus thought as he walked to the med lab.

***

Cobra Commander studied the invite in his hands, "this is perfect!" He screeched.

He passed the invite to Destro, so he and the Baroness could examine it.

"So we don't need the spy to set a trap?" Asked Firefly.

"She is still useful," said Stormshadow, "she can sense the location of power stones"

"We'll let her be for the time being," Cobra Commander said, "we'll let her know we know who she really is at the party!"

"Do I get to kill her?" Asked Baroness.

"Fool, did you not just hear she senses power stones!" Yelled Cobra Commander, "she hasn't outlived her usefulness to me yet!"

The admonished Baroness stepped back into the shadows, not wanting to draw more attention to herself.

"Destro, I leave the planning to you for this trap!" Ordered Cobra Commander.

"Yes, my lord," Destro replied.

***

"How much longer?" Wailed Thundercracker in agony.

He was a seeker - meant to fly free in the sky, not be trapped in some tiny shuttle!

"Four more Earth days," replied Starscream, watching Thundercracker's pain with amusement.

"What did I say about talking?" Screamed Soundwave from the pilot's seat.

Thundercracker clamped his mouth shut - it was going to be a long four days for the poor Decepticon.

***

"Pull up there," Rocket asked, "make sure you park up close to the window so you can see inside."

"Why?" Barricade responded, as he did so.

"Because I don't think the staff will believe me if I tell them I just want to take an unpaid good outside to ask my car's opinion!" Said Rocket.

She took out a small communication device and put it on Barricade's dashboard.

"What's that for?" He demanded.

"So I can hear your opinion idiot!" Rocket snarled, lack of sleep was making her grumpy.

She got out and went inside the store.

***

Optimus stared at the recharging Hot Shot in horror.

"What happened to him?" He asked Ratchet.

"Well, he came literally bouncing into the base," replied Ratchet, remembering the cartwheels and Ironhide's shouts, "before he suddenly passed out and collapsed. I've been trying to wake him up but he won't respond - it's like he has been drained of all energy!"

"Is it a virus?" Optimus asked, hoping it wasn't virus season for the Cybertronians.

"No," Ratchet shook his head, "Earth doesn't have our level of viruses, the ones they do have - our immune systems would just shake them off.'

"So what is wrong with him?" A worried Optimus asked.

"That's what I have to find out," answered Ratchet.

***

Rocket stood inside the shop, by the window.

"What do you think?" she asked, talking into her comm-link.

"I don't know - I think he might get crushed by it," replied Barricade.

Rocket sighed as she looked at the enormous teddy bear in her arms. It was so big, Barricade could only see her arms holding it and her feet sticking out from under it.

"And besides," he added, "there is no one that thing is going to fit into me comfortably!"

Rocket's plan had involved buying Frenzy his own teddy bear to hold at night and some of those CDs that had bedtimes stories on them. So Barricade could play them in his CD player at night for Frenzy.

Getting the bedtime story CDs had been the easy part, the teddy bear was the hard part.

Rocket had brought Barricade with her, as he knew the little Decepticon's taste better than she did.

"All right, I'll go look for another one!" She muttered as she ignored the stares she was getting for continuously holding up different stuffed toys to the window while talking to herself.

***

"Don't you think it'll be a lot faster if we just hi-jacked some car?" Torch asked, as the Dreadnoks walked tiredly down the highway.

Machete sighed as a police car came up behind them, flashing it's lights.

"It is dangerous and against the law to use the high-way without using the legal form of transport!" Prowl said as he drove up to them.

"Hey, it's Barricade!" Buzzer called out, when he noticed there was no one driving.

The Dreadnoks starting grinning, here was their ride home! Prowl stopped behind them - he'd missed what Buzzer had said about him being Barricade.

"You gave us a fright old buddy! We thought you were a real police car!" Machete said, as they all climbed into a confused Prowl.

None of them had noticed the distinct lack of a Cobra symbol on the bonnet.

"Can I help you?" Prowl asked, puzzled as to why these humans were treating him like a long lost friend.

"Yeah," said Torch, "you can take us home!"

"Home? Where is that?" Prowl was getting more confused - these humans weren't even worried that a car was talking to him.

"He's lost," remarked Buzzer, "don't worry - you're still new here! We'll give you directions!"

"Okay," Prowl said slowly as he decided to go along and see what drug these humans were on, then when he had enough evidence he'll cart them off to the nearest police station.

"Carry on straight till you get out of town," directed Machete, as Prowl drove off.

***

"Optimus! He is coming round!" Ratchet called out as he saw Hot Shot begin to stir.

Optimus hurried over to the bed and watched concerned as Hot Shot's optics came online.

"What happened?" Hot Shot asked weakly, when he saw the other two Autobots.

"We were kind of hoping you could tell us!" Said Ratchet.

"I don't know - I was feeling great but it all went black," Hot Shot replied, placing a weary hand over his optics to shut out the harsh light.

"You were full of energy when you entered the base but then you were drained somehow," Ratchet explained, as he brought a cube of energon over to Hot Shot.

Hot Shot took the energon gratefully and begun to drink it, "I think it might have had something to do with that weird blast I got caught in during my mission."

"What weird blast?" Asked Optimus, puzzled.

"I don't know what it was, but I think Sigma 6 might," answered Hot Shot, feeling the energon begin to revive him properly.

Optimus and Ratchet shared a 'look', one that said Sigma 6 better have a very good explanation for what that weird blast was.

***

"See, there's the hanger," Torch pointed out to Prowl, "now you know your way back home!"

Prowl decided not to comment on the fact that he still didn't have the foggiest idea who these humans were inside of him that seemed to think he was their friend.

"Just drive inside like usual, I never thought I'd ever need to help you with directions!" Commented Machete.

Prowl resisted the urge to remark that he never thought he'd ever need take directions from a human like him.

Prowl drove inside, and noted with a bit of panic that someone closed the doors behind him - trapping him (because he'd never just drive through a door unless he had to, unlike Barricade).

The Dreadnoks climbed out and went chattering off out of the hanger.

"Prowl?" Asked a shocked voice and Arcee drove into view, "what on Cybertron brings you here?"

"Forget about that!" He said, "just tell me where 'here' is?"

"'Here' is the Cobra base, you know, the one I'm infiltrating?" Arcee replied.

"Hey!" Stormshadow yelled as he walked into the hanger, "where is Rocket?"

"Um, I don't know," Prowl replied, feeling confused and worried about his predicament.

"She was with you!" Stormshadow pointed out angrily.

"I'd hate to burst your bubble Stormshadow," said Arcee, "but that isn't Barricade you know - lack of Cobra sign and all.'

Now Stormshadow looked confused, "then who is he?" He demanded.

"Aaautobot!" Shrieked Frenzy from the shadows and leapt onto Prowl's bonnet.

"Down Frenzy!" Commanded Arcee angrily.

"They thought I was Barricade?" Prowl screamed in horror.

"What is going on in here?" Firefly demanded as he walked into the hanger.

"The Dreadnoks brought back a Barricade look-a-like!" Explained Stormshadow.

"I do not look like him!" Screamed Prowl angrily.

The group of them were so absorbed in what was going on - none of them noticed 22 open the hanger doors and Barricade and Rocket driving in.

"I quite agree," Barricade growled, all turning to look at him, "I'm much better looking!"

"Vhy are there two police cars?" Asked Baroness as she walked into the hanger.

"This is all a big misunderstanding!" Prowl tried to explain as he watched Barricade transform, "and can be settled out of battle logically!"

"There's going to be a robot battle?" The Dreadnoks asked excitedly as they rushed back into the hanger.

"No no no!" Shouted Prowl as Barricade advanced, grinning evilly.

"Am I missing all the fun?" Zartan asked as he too rushed into the hanger.

Soon the two pseudo police cars were in a circle of watching humans (along with Arcee and Frenzy also on the sidelines).

Prowl still hadn't transformed, he was trying to think of a solution out of this mess. Barricade on the other hand was busy flexing his arms.

"Aren't you going to stop them?" Rocket had managed to squeeze up to Arcee.

Arcee glanced at her, Rocket seemed to be holding wrapped up presents in her arms.

"Look at me Rocket! I'm half their size - do you think I can do anything?" She replied.

"Um, no - but can't you send a emergency signal to the other Autobots or something?" Rocket asked in desperation.

"I'll try, but I don't know how soon they can get here!" Arcee replied fearfully, as Barricade forced Prowl finally to transform.

***

"Optimus!" Red Alert came running into the med lab.

"What is it Red Alert?" Asked Optimus.

"We are receiving two distress beacons from the same area!" Red Alert replied urgently, "one from Prowl and one from Arcee!"

"Do you know what is happening?" Optimus asked as he stood up and walked hurriedly out of the med lab to round up a team, followed by Ratchet and Red Alert.

Hot Shot was still too weak to move.

Red Alert nodded to Optimus's question, "Prowl isn't responding but Arcee has explained what is going on. Somehow Prowl ended up in Cobra's base and Barricade is forcing him to fight! Arcee can't intervene because she has too pretend she is no longer an Autobot!"

"Not that she'll be much help against a larger opponent," remarked Ratchet dryly.

"Everyone but Landmine on this mission!" Ordered Optimus, "he'll stay behind to look after the base and Hot Shot!"

The gathered Autobots nodded, though Landmine did look a bit upset he had to stay behind.

"Autobots," Optimus yelled, "roll out!"

TBC...


	16. Fight! Fight!

'This isn't good!' Prowl thought as he dodged a punch from Barricade.

Prowl retaliated the punch with one of his own, it grazed Barricade's chin.

***

"How much longer till we get there?" Ironhide yelled as he increased his speed.

"We'll be there soon!" Optimus yelled back.

'Who knew that the Cobra base would be so close to our own,' Bumblebee thought as he led the pack.

***

Arcee squealed and covered her eyes as Barricade threw Prowl into a wall.

"What's going up there?" Demanded Cobra Commander irritably as the walls shook and large thuds could be heard above their heads.

"Apparently Barricade is fighting an intruder Commander," replied Destro.

"Why are you just sitting there doing nothing," Cobra Commander yelled at a trooper, "did you fix the camera's in the hanger?"

"Just one sir!" The Trooper replied hastily.

"Then put the battle up in the big screen so we can all watch it," ordered Cobra Commander, "then bring me some popcorn!"

***

"So you are saying that a Autobot went happy after he got hit by the power stone blast?" Asked Hi-tech.

"You should've seen it," replied Scarlett, "bouncing around like a child!"

"And the way he tore apart Overlord Vector was amazing!" Added Tunnel Rat.

"I should study these affects," Hi-tech mused.

***

Barricade had Prowl on the floor, hitting him with his fists. Prowl was doing all he could to avoid the punches. Summoning his strength, Prowl tossed Barricade off him.

Now it was Barricade lying on the floor with Prowl punching him.

***

"Soundwave," Rumble almost whispered the name.

"What?" Soundwave snapped.

"I think Thundercracker is going crazy," Rumble replied.

Soundwave glanced back, Thundercracker was rocking back and forth trying to get rid of his claustrophobia. He was also humming.

"Just ignore him," said Soundwave.

***

The both of them were now on their feet, grappling with each other.

Barricade tried to trip Prowl but failed, Prowl responded with elbowing Barricade in the face and bringing his knee up to Barricade's stomach.

Barricade groaned and leaned forward, grabbing Prowl by the legs and bringing him down. He got to his feet quickly and begun kicking Prowl in his side.

Prowl swept his feet out from under him. The two of them rolled across the ground scattering spectators, kicking and punching wherever they could.

***

"Here!" Yelled Bumblebee.

"About slagging time!" Snarled Ironhide.

Barricade became aware of arms grabbing him from behind, lifting him off his quarry. He growled as he tried to worm his way out of their grasp and get back to hitting Prowl.

Prowl snarled and flew forward towards Barricade to continue the fight, but arms grab him as well from behind. Keeping the two fighters apart.

"Stop fighting this instance!" Yelled an authoritative voice angrily.

The two them turned to face an angry looking Optimus Prime.

"Looks like you have an unfair advantage Prowl," growled Barricade.

"Bring it on Barricade, you know I had you cornered!" Prowl snarled back.

Optimus shook his head, he'd never seen Prowl so worked up about an opponent before.

"We are leaving!" Prime ordered.

Red Alert and Bumblebee released their grip on Prowl, Ratchet gave him a quick glance over.

"Nothing serious, you can drive back like that," said Ratchet.

He turned to examine Barricade, still being held by Ironhide, but his would be patient bared his teeth and growled.

"Fine fine," Ratchet backed off, "just don't come crawling to me when your legs rust off!"

"Let him go Ironhide," Optimus ordered, "we are leaving."

"What? We are just letting him off?" Ironhide snarled.

"There are six of us against him," Optimus responded, "not what I call fair odds!"

He transformed and drove out of the hanger, Ironhide growled and let Barricade loose.

"Just wait for a dark night when you're alone," Ironhide hissed, before following Optimus.

Ratchet turned to Arcee, who was trying to hide behind Rocket, "coming?" He asked.

Arcee shook her head.

Ratchet sighed and left, followed by the other Autobots.

"Who were they?" Zartan asked.

Barricade growled and marched out of the hanger to be alone.

***

"Is it over already?" Cobra Commander groaned, "and it was just getting good too!"

"Shouldn't we be worrying if our newest recruit is injured?" Asked Destro.

"He looked all right to me!" Replied Cobra Commander.

***

Frenzy was torn, should he go find Barricade, or give him some space for a while?

He was curious to see what Rocket had in those parcels, but sometimes partners came first - so he went to find Barricade.

***

"Why didn't you let me finish him off Prime?" Demanded Prowl angrily.

"From the looks of it, he was the one finishing you off!" Replied Optimus.

Prowl didn't bother responding.

"How did you even end up in that situation anyway?" Asked Optimus, puzzled.

"A long story Optimus, a long story," said Prowl.

***

Rocket and Arcee found Barricade sitting under a tree near the base, he was wearing a look that said he would rip off anyone's head if they got to close.

"I don't know Rocket, maybe we should come back later?" Arcee said, stopping a few metres away from him.

"Frenzy is with him, and I need to give these parcels to him," replied Rocket, who took a deep breath and walked towards Barricade.

He growled, but looked away.

Frenzy patted him on the foot, and looked up at Rocket.

"Hey Frenzy," said Rocket, "Barricade and I bought these for you today!"

She held out the presents to him.

Frenzy looked at them, and then up at Barricade - who gave the smallest nod.

Grabbing the largest, Frenzy proceeded to rip off the paper, revealing a blue teddy bear.

"So you have your own," Rocket explained, "and it's blue because Barricade said Rumble was blue so I ought to get it in that colour."

"Rumble?" Frenzy asked, looking up at Barricade as if he didn't believe the larger Decepticon could ever think of small details like that.

"Now you can pretend you are sleeping next to him again," Barricade said in a low voice.

Frenzy looked at the teddy bear in awe.

"What are you going to name it?" Asked Rocket, "only Snoofy can't have a nameless friend you know."

"Rumble," Frenzy replied.

Barricade gave a snort of laughter.

'At least he is cheering up,' Rocket thought to herself.

Frenzy held the teddy bear Rumble in a bear hug and looked pointedly at the other presents.

"Oh these?" Rocket smiled, and held them out to him.

Frenzy grabbed them and opened them to find the bedtime story CDs.

"That's so you don't need anyone to read to you anymore," said Rocket, "you can play them anytime you want to."

Rocket looked up at Barricade, "not to mention Barricade here has agreed you can play them in his CD player at night," she gave Barricade a light kick on his shin, "didn't you Barricade?"

Barricade gave Rocket a glare but nodded.

Rumble began looking through the CDs to find his favourite stories, while Barricade got an idea.

Seeing Ratchet and Arcee in the same room together made him realise he had a way of getting Frenzy's head checked out.

"Autobot, can I talk to you privately?" Barricade asked.

Arcee looked a bit puzzled but agreed to walk off with him.

"Where are those two going?" Rocket asked Frenzy.

But he just shrugged.

"So Barricade, what do you want?" Asked Arcee, once they were quite some distance away.

"Do you have contact with Ratchet?" Barricade responded.

"Not really, but I'm sure he'll come if I ask him. Why, are you badly injured?" Arcee looked at him, a bit concerned.

"No, but I want to have Frenzy checked out, do you think you could arrange an appointment?" Barricade answered.

"Maybe, but it'll be on his timetable," said Arcee, while inwardly cheering - this was a perfect opportunity to get the Decepticons out of the way on Saturday.

"Just make sure it is soon, I can't stand any more cuteness from Frenzy!" Barricade growled, and turned to go back to the others.

"You're limping," Rocket commentated when Barricade walked back.

"So human?" Barricade asked.

"Why don't you get Overkill to take a look at your leg?" She suggested.

"No!" Yelled Barricade in fright.

"Um, why not?" Rocket asked, puzzled.

"Didn't you hear," Arcee giggled, "they got off on the wrong foot!"

Arcee burst out laughing and begun rolling on the ground from laughter.

Rocket glanced at Arcee as if the Autobot had lost her mind.

"But I don't get it," Rocket said, "you hate humans, Overkill hates 'organics,' so the two of you should be best buddies?"

"It's more complicated than that," Barricade said, while looking at a still laughing Arcee with disgust.

"Whatever, at least let me look at it - I am somewhat good at mechanics," Rocket said.

'Not as good as Hi-tech though,' she thought to herself.

"Forget it human!" Barricade growled and transformed before driving back to the hanger.

Leaving Rocket alone with a laughing Arcee and a teddy bear hugging Frenzy.

TBC...


	17. Wednesday

"Hey you!" Rocket yelled at Barricade.

It was the morning after the fight incident with Prowl.

"What do you want human?" Demanded Barricade angrily, she had just disturbed him from his recharge.

"Have you seen Frenzy?" Rocket snapped back.

"Yes, he is inside of me," replied Barricade, "looks like your plan was a success - so why do you seem so angry?"

"He stole Snoofy!" Screamed back Rocket, pointing a angry finger at Barricade.

"That would be pointless," Barricade told Rocket, "he has Rumble now, he doesn't need your teddy bear!"

"Then explain why Snoofy is missing, you junk heap!" Rocket yelled back, she was not a morning person.

Barricade growled, "how dare you insult me!"

"Me insult you? You are the one who has continuously been calling me names since you got here!" Retorted Rocket.

"Well, you are just a flesh-bag!" Replied Barricade.

"And you are just a junk heap!" Rocket repeated her insult, "now wake Frenzy up now!"

Neither of them noticed Machete creeping up on them.

"Um Rocket," Machete interrupted, "but does this belong to you - only we Dreadnoks found Zartan with it this morning?"

He held out Snoofy.

"Snoofy!" Rocket screamed and grabbed the soft toy and hugged it happily.

"Don't you think you owe someone a apology?" Barricade said smugly next to her.

***

Optimus decided to meet up with Duke face to face to discuss what was the blast that had affected Hot Shot the day before.

The two of them were standing in a secure part of Megalo City's docks.

"So you saying this blast was caused by a power stone exploding?" Optimus asked, looking down at Duke - who was standing on the deck of the Sea Titan.

"Yes, but usually we don't get that sort of result when one of the stones explode," replied Duke, "electric equipment gets shorted out and robots go berserk and attack everything."

"But Hot Shot got a power boost that later knocked him out?" Optimus mused.

"This is very exciting," said Hi-tech, he was standing next to Duke examining data on a laptop, which Ratchet had supplied him with.

Optimus had to note that this human was certainly looking a lot better than the first time he had seen Hi-tech.

"I think I know what happened, if your medic might agree with me," Hi-tech said, looking up and glancing at Ratchet standing by Optimus.

"I'm all auditory receptors," Ratchet replied.

"Okay, the power stone boosted Hot Shot - but his systems couldn't handle the extra pressure the body was exerting on it. That is why he was knocked out, for his body to recover the energy that the extra power depleted him of!" Hi-tech explained.

"I don't get it?" Said Duke, "having extra power drained him of energy?"

"I must admit this theory isn't the strongest," said Ratchet, "but I get what Hi-tech is trying to say. Hot Shot's body isn't supposed to hold that much power - it isn't built that way! But the power boost forced it too, so it used up energy trying to keep his body from destroying itself."

"So," asked Optimus, "are this power boosts dangerous?"

"Not if it happens rarely - but continuously and the body would get destroyed," replied Ratchet.

"So all you guys have to do is keep away from exploding power stones!" Duke said.

"Do you mind if I have one of these power stones to examine?" Ratchet asked Hi-tech.

"Sure, I'll get one for you!" Hi-tech said as he ran off to his lab.

"Ratchet, are you sure about bringing one of those things back to the base?" Optimus asked, feeling a bit worried.

"Relax Optimus," replied Ratchet casually, "it will be controlled experiments in my lab, and admit to yourself - you want to see if the power from these stones can be harness into energon."

"What's energon?" Asked Duke, curious.

"Our fuel source," replied Optimus, "like your version of food."

***

"Ironhide - what are you doing?" Landmine asked as he walked into the room.

"Um, nothing," Ironhide replied suspiciously.

"You are trying to hack into Bee's and Hot Shot's secret project aren't you?" Accused Landmine, as Ironhide tried to pretend he was no where near the computer he was working on a few moments ago.

"No, I was um, I was, er, playing a computer game and you startled me!" Ironhide said, sounding hurt that Landmine could accuse him of doing such a thing.

"Really - on the only computer in this room that Prowl ordered no games to be loaded onto?" Landmine said, letting a bit of mock puzzlement into his voice.

Ironhide looked flustered, "why on Primus would Prowl order something like that?"

Landmine was stuck, he had lied about Prowl's order trying to trap Ironhide.

"Do you really want to question Prowl's logic?" He shot back at Ironhide, "Prowl must have a good reason for his order!"

"Well," Ironhide replied, "I didn't know and loaded a game to help me with my um, my, um, shooting skills!"

"Really?" Landmine said, looking disbelieving.

"Yes, and now I got to go!" Ironhide remarked as he pushed past Landmine and left the room.

Landmine grinned and contacted Bumblebee on his comm-link, "you might want to add extra security to your project."

"What do you mean?" Came back Bumblebee's confused voice.

"I just caught Ironhide trying to hack into the files," replied Landmine.

Bumblebee responded with some naughty curse words.

"Language, language Bee," Landmine gently chided Bumblebee, "by the way - can't you let me on the secret?"

"Sorry Landmine, like we tell everyone else - wait till it's finished!" Replied Bumblebee and cut the comm-link to Landmine.

Landmine was about to help himself to one of the computers in the room to do some research when a disconcerted Prowl entered the room.

"What is wrong with Ironhide?" Prowl asked confused, he was still limping a bit thanks to Barricade.

"Why? What happened?" Asked Landmine with a slight grin.

"I was minding my business walking down the corridor when Ironhide came up to me and yelled at me!" Replied Prowl.

"What did he say?" Landmine was trying not to chuckle.

"He called me a slaghead and told me how slagging stupid some of my orders could be and asked where in my slagging logic did I come up with them!" Prowl sounded incredulous.

Landmine sniggered, "is that all he said?"

"Well, I didn't include the majority of the swearing but he also yelled about how I must have something against slagging computer games and if I had a problem with him loading them I could go shove my slagging head up Megatron's aft!" Replied Prowl angrily.

Landmine burst out laughing, "I'm sorry Prowl - it's my fault. I had to lie to him about you giving an order not to load games onto one of the computers here."

"Why in Primus's name did you do that?" Yelled Prowl.

"I caught him trying to hack into the project that Bee and Hot Shot are working on," explained Landmine, "and he tried to worm his way out of it by saying he was playing a game."

Prowl sighed, "I'll be glad when that project is over - so Ironhide will stop acting like a youngling!"

***

Destro called a meeting with Barricade, Arcee and Frenzy, they were meeting in one of the larger rooms in the Subterranean base.

"The mission goes ahead on Saturday at 10pm, we will need you there to help us destroy some of the enemy," said Destro.

"So I get to kill some humans?" Barricade asked happily.

"Yes," replied Destro, "remember not to let the spy know what is going on."

"Why would we do that?" Growled Barricade.

"We have noticed that you are spending large amounts of time with her," explained Destro.

"Well, of course," said Arcee, "seeing as she is the only one making the effort of spending time with us!"

"Not that it matters after Saturday," Destro grinned evilly, "you won't be spending much time with her and then you can make new friends in Cobra."

"You kkkilling Rrrocket?" Asked Frenzy.

"Not until she outlives her usefulness," answered Destro.

"Why do you care Frenzy?" Asked Barricade, "she accused you of theft this morning!"

Frenzy didn't reply.

"Anyway - you three are dismissed now that you know the plan," said Destro and he left the room.

Arcee made to leave to, but Barricade grabbed her arm.

"What?" She demanded.

"Frenzy leave us," growled Barricade, and watched the small Decepticon stalk out of the room. He turned back to Arcee, "have you made contact?"

"Yes," She replied, "but he'll only meet you on Saturday, no earlier, no later."

"That's when the mission is," Barricade hissed.

"Yes, so now you have a choice, killing humans or taking Frenzy to his doctor's appointment?" Arcee wrenched her arm free and left Barricade alone with his decision.

***

For once Rocket was glad she had to endure this torture that Stormshadow insisted was training. It helped her not to think about her accusation this morning. She felt bad, despite the fact that Frenzy was a psychopathic alien robot - he was starting to grow on her.

"Shockingly, you are getting slightly better," Stormshadow remarked as she attacked the punchbag, "but there is still room for improvement!"

"Yes Sensei," Rocket replied.

"You can take a short break, I believe Cobra Commander wants you to run a small errand for him," Stormshadow said, and left.

Rocket stopped hitting the bag, yes a small errand - pick up the refreshments for the next staff meeting!

***

"Um, Barricade," Rocket spoke in a tiny voice.

"What?" Snarled Barricade.

"I'm sorry for what I did and said this morning, but I've been ordered to take you on an errand," replied Rocket worriedly.

"Take Arcee!" Barricade hissed.

"I can't, both 22 and I need to go!" Rocket said - pointing to 22 standing next to her.

"Can't I just take him and ignore you!" Barricade growled.

Rocket shook her head while 22 looked terrified, remembering his last time inside the police car.

"Fine," snarled Barricade, opening a door for Rocket and 22 to enter.

***

They had parked outside a grocery store, Barricade had waited in the parking lot while the two humans had gone inside with a shopping list. They were gone for an hour but now they emerged laden down with parcels of food.

Barricade opened his boot and let them deposit the parcels.

As they got into Barricade, Rocket noticed it - the sign.

A picture of a double-cheese burger on a bill board advertisement.

"Um, Rocket?" 22 asked, when he noticed Rocket staring fixated at something in front of her.

He looked forward and saw the bill board, "do you want to get one quickly?" He asked.

Rocket shook her head, "I can't we are on a tight schedule!"

But she wanted to get one so badly!

Barricade noticed there was something strange with Rocket, so he scanned her.

"Primus! Human, are you salivating inside of me?" Barricade sounded shocked.

Half an hour later, Barricade rolled into the hanger.

Arcee could sense something was wrong so she moved forward to find out what happened.

"Humans are the most disgusting creatures ever!" Barricade yelled when he saw her.

"Why what happened?" Arcee asked, amused as she saw 22 and Rocket carrying the parcels out of the hanger.

"That female drooled inside of me!" He snarled as a answer.

"What?" Arcee was confused.

And slowly the story came out, that Rocket was addicted to something that Barricade referred to as a 'cheese burger' and when ever she wanted one she would drool.

"So I got that other flesh-bag to get her one to stop her disgusting habit!" Concluded Barricade with disgust.

Arcee couldn't help but laugh.

"Poor you!" She comforted him.

TBC...


	18. Why'd Have to Bee Me?

Ratchet was examining the power stone he had brought back with him the day before. Optimus was standing nervously to the side watching him.

"Are you absolutely sure there is no way that stone is going to explode?" He asked Ratchet.

"Optimus, as I told you before - I'm not Wheeljack!" Ratchet looked up and hissed at him.

Prime gave a sigh and left the med lab, making his way to his office.

Bumblebee was already there, waiting for him.

"I'm off to see Sam," said Bumblebee.

"Give my greetings to Sam and Mikaela," Optimus replied and walked into the sanctuary of his office.

Bumblebee nodded and left.

Optimus was busying himself over a few reports, when Red Alert burst into his office.

"You'll never guess who has just arrived!" Red Alert shouted happily.

"What?" Optimus nearly fell out of his chair, "there has been a new arrival? Who?"

"Wheeljack!" Replied Red Alert, while said mech walked into Optimus's office.

"Hey there Prime, thought I'd surprise you all!" Beamed Wheeljack.

"When did you land?" Asked Optimus, shocked that someone had landed unnoticed.

"About an Earth hour ago," answered Wheeljack, "so where do I set up my lab? I have a new experiment I want to try out!"

"You can share with Ratchet!" Red Alert said, "I'm sure he won't mind until we get you set up with your own lab!"

'Famous last words!' Optimus thought to himself as Red Alert showed Wheeljack to the med lab.

***

"So Bee," Sam said, "what's been going on since the new guys arrived?"

He and Mikaela were sitting on the pavement facing Bumblebee while licking ice-creams, Bumblebee had made them sit outside so they wouldn't drip any of the dairy product on his seats.

"Nothing much, just the usual stuff," replied Bumblebee, while wondering if Ratchet could create energon ice-cream.

"Did you guys hear about Hackfield Science Academy?" Mikaela asked, licking some melted ice-cream off her fingers.

"Yeah," added Sam, "apparently the place was torn apart by robots - do you know if it was Barricade?"

"Um, no, that was Hot Shot and a Cobra B.A.T," Bumblebee replied, "no Decepticons were responsible."

"Whoa, do you think you can get Hot Shot to destroy our school too please?" Sam asked.

***

"No slagging way am I sharing my med lab with that pit-brained moron!" Yelled Ratchet, and he threw a wrench at Red Alert.

"Please Ratchet, it's just for a short while until we build him his own lab," Optimus tried to placate the angry medic, while ducking from another wrench.

"It's all right," Wheeljack said, as he ducked from a screwdriver, "you can keep your lab to yourself like a spoiled sparkling."

"What did you call me?" Ratchet demanded, brandishing a very sharp saw.

"A spoiled sparkling, as that is how you are acting!" Replied Wheeljack.

"Fine," snarled Ratchet, "just to prove I'm not a spoiled sparkling, I'll share - but Primus help you if you blow up one thing!"

Wheeljack grinned and he pulled out a small device, "excellent! Now prepare to be amazed by my latest invention!"

He darted into the med lab and placed the device next to the power stone. He stepped back and pulled out another small device - a remote.

"What is it supposed to do?" Optimus asked nervously - spotting the power stone.

"Well, we all know how Skywarp can teleport small distances right?" Wheeljack said rhetorically, "I've been working on my own version for some time now! When I landed on Earth I attached a similar device on a rock, and now when I press this red button," he pointed to the remote, "the rock should be teleported to this location!"

Ratchet glanced at the device curiously and spotted what was making Optimus nervous.

"Don't press that…"

BOOM!

****

Ironhide looked down at himself and then up at Hot Shot, Landmine and Prowl. Like him they also had blue sparks racing over their bodies.

"Pretty!" Hot Shot remarked.

The power stone blast had spared no Autobot on the base.

***

"I've got to go now," Bumblebee said as he dropped Sam off at his home.

"Hey, I paid four thousand for you, shouldn't you stay with the person owning you?" Sam laughed.

"Well, if you can convince your father to build me a recharge berth and energon storage facilities, then maybe you can keep your car all the time," Bumblebee replied.

"Don't see that happening anytime soon - drive safe Bee!" Sam said.

Bumblebee drove off and hooted as a goodbye.

***

"Soundwave," Starscream spoke up - ignoring earlier threats, "I don't think I happened to mention this to you, but Megatron is dead by the way."

"What?" Soundwave twisted his round to look back at his passenger, "and you only thought of telling me this now?"

"Well, I wanted it to be a surprise," Starscream smirked, "I'm afraid your little brat is also dead as well."

"Frenzy is not dead," Soundwave looked back at the controls, "I can still sense his spark."

***

Bumblebee drove up to the base, he could see the other Autobot's outside - doing something strange.

"Hey Bee!" Yelled Ironhide, "want to join us for a game of leap frog?"

"What?" Bumblebee was shocked, not to mention a bit confused when he spotted Wheeljack leaping over Ratchet's back.

"When did Wheeljack get here? What are you all doing?" He transformed and let his mouth drop open in surprise.

"What does it look like?" Optimus said, "so do you want to play or not?"

"We might have to give him a handicap as he is so small," Hot Shot remarked.

"What's going on?" Bumblebee tried again to get an answer.

"We are filled with an incredible amount of energy," replied Ratchet, "so we are trying to find ways of getting rid of it!"

"Optimus and Ironhide had a race to see who was fastest," spoke up Red Alert, "but that didn't help the rest of us, so we resorted to this Earth game."

"Only now you're here, but are too small to join in," said Wheeljack, "and it won't be fun for you to just watch."

"Hey," said Optimus, "I've got an idea of a fun game that Bee can join in!"

"What?" Asked Bumblebee, a little worried from the way the others were acting.

"Lets see how high we can throw you!" Optimus yelled back excitedly.

"That's a great idea!" Prowl said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

Bumblebee barely manage running a metre away from them before Ironhide grabbed him.

"Me first!" Ironhide announced, and threw the poor Autobot up.

"Whoa, that's quite high," said Prowl - his logic calculating the height.

"Me next," said Ratchet as he caught the falling Bumblebee, "I ought to win this with all my experience throwing tools!"

And poor Bumblebee flew upwards again.

"That's got to be at least ten more metres than Ironhide!" Remarked Hot Shot.

"My turn now!" Called out Optimus as he caught Bumblebee.

"Arrgghhh!" Bumblebee screamed as he went up.

"Amazing," Wheeljack spoke in an awed whisper as Bumblebee floated up, "you can barely see him anymore!"

"Definitely at least a thousand more metres than Ratchet," Landmine commented, as Bumblebee's screams grew louder as he fell towards the ground again.

***

"Are you sure this is the place?" A female voice asked.

"Of course I'm sure - this is where the tracking device shows him to be!" Replied another female voice angrily.

"I'm not too sure we should've let Wheeljack go ahead of us," said the first voice.

"How else were we going to surprise the others?" The second voice sighed, "you know the plan - he goes first - distracts them while we landed and tidied up ourselves then followed his signal back to the base to surprise Optimus and the others."

"But Elita, this base seems just too quiet for my liking!" Growled the first voice.

"Come on Chromia - it's not like you to be so nervous!" Elita reprimanded as the two femmes crept down the corridors of the base.

"Do you hear that?" Chromia asked suddenly stopping.

"What now?" Elita stopped as well.

"It's sounds like muffled shouting, coming down this corridor!" Replied Chromia, setting off towards the sound.

Elita paused and listened, Chromia was right - there was faint yelling drifting towards them.

Drawing her weapons she followed Chromia, who had also drawn her weapons.

***

"Help!" Bumblebee screamed, not really hoping anyone would come to his rescue - they were all acting crazy.

He strained at the restraints holding him down to the bed in the med lab where Ratchet had left him.

"Help!" He screamed again, cursing his bad luck.

A sound outside the door to the med lab silenced him, there was someone there. Was it one of the others coming back?

The door slid open and the two last Transformers he thought would ever be there, stood staring at him in shock.

"Bee!" Shouted Elita, "what happened, was it the Decepticons?"

"Where are the others? Are they all right?" Chromia yelled.

The two femmes hurried to release Bumblebee's restraints.

"No, it was Ratchet," Bumblebee answered as he sat up.

"Not wanting to take his medical advice?" Chromia smirked with a knowing grin.

"No, Prowl said I was a spoilsport, so he and Ratchet left me here," Bumblebee said, shaking his head.

"Wait a minute - Prowl called you a spoil sport?" Elita asked, a bit confused.

"Yes, and Optimus agreed with him!" Replied Bumblebee.

"Bee," Chromia looked at him seriously, "just what is going on here?"

"The others got hit by some sort of energy blast while I was away," explained Bumblebee, "it gave them a power boost but also seemed to make them, um, slightly crazy. I came back and they started throwing me into the air for fun!"

Elita and Chromia looked shocked.

"And when they got tired of that," continued Bumblebee, "they decided their new power made them invincible!"

FLASHBACK

"Hey!" Said Optimus, as Hot Shot tried unsuccessfully to toss Bumblebee into the air, "let's go take back Cybertron and kick some Decepticon aft!"

"Great idea!" Prowl agreed, "with our new power, they can't possibly stand against us!"

"Wait," Bumblebee groaned where he lay on the ground, "that's madness!"

"You're just upset because you don't have an energy boost too!" Said Hot Shot.

"Yeah, you're just being a spoil sport to us stronger mechs!" Growled Prowl.

"No I'm not," Bumblebee trying to get them to see logic, "it's just you few against an army!"

"A weak army!" Yelled Landmine.

"I agree with Prowl, Bee," Optimus said, looking down at Bumblebee, "you are being a spoil sport to our fun!"

"Let me take care of him," Ratchet said, grabbing Bumblebee and slinging him over his shoulder.

"You can join us when you get stronger too!" Called out Red Alert as Ratchet, followed by Prowl, carried Bumblebee inside.

"Just make sure you aren't a stick in the mud when you do!" Added Optimus, as the two mechs disappeared from sight.

Bumblebee struggled in Ratchet's grip.

"What are you going to do to me?" He asked fearfully.

"I'm just going to make sure you don't get in our way while we make our plans," Ratchet answered as he entered the med lab and threw Bumblebee onto one of the beds.

Bumblebee tried to jump up and escape, but Ratchet and Prowl were faster and restrained Bumblebee to the bed.

"We'll come get you later when it's time to leave for Cybertron!" Prowl said as they left the med lab.

END FLASHBACK

"And I've been here ever since. I don't know where the others are!" Bumblebee ended off his story.

Elita and Chromia sat and stared back at him in shock for a few minutes.

Finally Elita found her voice, "and how long ago did they leave you?" She asked.

"A few hours ago - I was starting to get worried they had left without me!" Replied Bumblebee.

"They don't have a ship, so they can't have left," Chromia pointed out.

"So let's go look for them!" Elita said, and got up to search, followed by Chromia and Bumblebee.

As they searched through the base, they kept stumbling across offlined mechs, and one by one they dragged the mechs back to the med lad.

Now they were waiting for them to wake up and explain exactly what was going through their thought processors.

Optimus was first, his optics lit up dimly, "I must be in a dream," he whispered weakly.

"Why?" Asked Elita.

"Because you are standing by me!" He replied, "how?"

"Like every other Transformer - I landed here! But unlike every other Transformer - I walk into a lunatic base!" Elita snarled angrily.

"What do you mean?" Optimus was confused.

"Explain to me why you thought throwing Bumblebee into the air sounded like a good game?" Elita hissed.

"I don't understand, why would I want to do something like that?" Optimus said, puzzled.

"Not only that!" Elita paused for dramatic effect, "but you also decided to go to Cybertron to, and I quote, 'kick some Decepticon aft'!"

"What do you mean? Last thing I remember was Wheeljack's invention blowing up!" Optimus replied, while struggling to sit up.

"Well, that explains the scorch marks in the corner," Elita said, helping Optimus up.

"I think we better wait till everyone else wakes up for some answers," Chromia said as she entered the room carrying a tray of energon cubes, which she offered Optimus.

He took one and glanced around the room, "where's Bumblebee?" He asked.

"Hiding," Chromia replied.

"Why?" Optimus asked feeling puzzled.

TBC...


	19. Friday

The Autobots sat in the recreation room; those who had been hit by the power stone blast were clutching enegon cubes as if the cubes contained the only energon left in the universe.

The two femmes and Bumblebee were the only ones who weren't drinking any energon.

"Did really do that to you Bee?" Ratchet groaned, as Bumblebee told his fellow Autobots exactly what they had been up to, while under the influence of extra power.

Bumblebee nodded, "and if you go into your office Prowl, don't be surprised to find a me-shaped hole in the wall."

"Why would there be a Bee-shape hole in my office wall?" Prowl asked, confused.

"Landmine thought he could win the throwing competition if he transformed and threw me in his scoop, only problem was that it threw me backwards into the base instead of up," explained Bumblebee.

Landmine's face took on a sheepish and shocked expression, "I'm so sorry Bee!" He apologised.

Bumblebee shook his head, as if to show he felt no hard feelings towards Landmine.

"Good thing that your bodies offlined due to that extra energy," said Elita, "or who knows what could have happened!"

"Don't remind me," Optimus said, shaking his head sadly, "I can't believe I wanted to go off and do something so foolish! 'Kick some Decepticon aft!' Honestly – what was I thinking?"

"Thinking a bit like Ironhide," Chromia giggled, and elbowed the mech beside her.

Ironhide gave her a slight glare and rubbed his side, "about time he thought a bit like I do – we might have a bit more fun around here!"

"Please no!" Ratchet spoke up, "I don't cherish being the patient instead of the medic!"

***

"So this is the Autobot base?" Rocket asked, looking around herself in awe.

"Yes, first time I've been here myself actually," Arcee replied, also looking around with a bit of awe too.

Hard to believe that her fellow Autobots had managed to set up a base so fast and well equipped like they had.

"Remind me again why we are here?" Rocket asked as she and Arcee walked through the base looking for the other Autobots.

"I wanted to ask Ratchet something, but I didn't want Barricade or Frenzy to overhear," explained Arcee, she started walking faster towards the sound of talking coming from up ahead.

Rocket had to run to keep up with Arcee's longer strides.

***

"So Ratchet, are we agreed? No more power stone experiments on base?" Optimus asked the disgruntled medic.

"There was nothing wrong with my experiment!" Ratchet protested, "I think you should decide on no more Wheeljack explosions on base instead!"

Wheeljack was about to retort when the recreation room's door opened.

"Elita! Chromia! You're here! Thank Primus, I thought I was the only femme on the planet!" Arcee squealed as she ran and grabbed the two femmes in question and pulled them into a bearhug.

"Get off Arcee!" Chromia snarled, as she tried to free herself from Arcee's grip.

"Ow," Elita screeched, her arm trapped behind her back in a painful position, "what's got into you?"

"No hug for me?" Wheeljack asked, slightly hurt.

Arcee let go of her two 'prisoners' and gave Optimus a glare, "why didn't you tell me that they had arrived?" She demanded angrily.

"They came yesterday, but to tell you the truth – things have been a little busy around here to tell you," Optimus responded.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Rocket called out, standing forgotten by the doorway.

"Is that a human?" Wheeljack asked, excited, "I haven't seen one yet!"

Rocket looked up at the Autobot, and noticed he seemed to be slightly singed and took a step backwards.

"Don't worry about Wheeljack, Rocket," said Arcee and pick Rocket up in her hand.

Rocket stood on her palm, clinging to Arcee's thumb. This was the first time a Transformer had carried her this way and the feeling slightly unsettled her.

"Don't drop me!" Rocket screeched and hung on for dear life.

"I won't, just relax," Arcee comforted and introduced her to the Autobots that she hadn't met before.

"Aw sweet!" Elita cooed, "are all humans small and cute?"

Rocket felt like she understood how fluffy rabbits felt.

"What brings you here?" Optimus asked, once the introductions were finished.

"I have a plan to keep Barricade distracted tomorrow," Arcee answered.

"Barricade? Barricade!" Snarled Chromia, drawing a cannon, "where is he? Let me toast him!"

"Easy," Ironhide placed a hand on the cannon – pointing it to the ground, "he's my prey anyway – I called dibs on him earlier this week."

"Slag!" Chromia hissed and put the cannon away.

"Ignoring that interruption," Optimus glared at the two Autobots, "what is your plan Arcee?"

"Barricade wants Ratchet to check Frenzy out, he is willing to meet with Ratchet on Ratchet's terms," Arcee said, "I told him that Ratchet will only meet with him tomorrow."

"You didn't think of asking me first?" Ratchet chided.

"Sorry, didn't have time," apologised Arcee.

"So, where is this meeting supposed to take place?" Optimus enquired.

"I was leaving that up to you, seeing as you know this planet better than I do," replied Arcee.

Prowl suddenly walked out of the room without saying a word.

"Probably thinking of tactics," Optimus mused.

***

"One more day and then we're there!" The cassettes sang loudly, Skywarp had joined in but faltered under Starscream's death glare.

Soundwave had given up on trying to maintain order on board the shuttle. Thundercracker had joined Ratbat in recharge. Starscream had snapped and personally knocked the claustrophobic mech out cold himself, and a little ruthlessly too.

Poor Ravage was still welded to the floor, but joined in the singing to try and cheer himself up with the knowledge that he'd soon be free.

Soundwave, glaring ahead and trying to ignore the noise behind him, became aware of Starscream walking into the pilot's cabin and closing the door behind him. The noise became slightly softer.

Settling down in the seat that was next to the pilot's chair, Starscream joined Soundwave in glaring ahead, trying to ignore what was going on in the rest of the shuttle.

***

"Where is Rocket?" Stormshadow demanded of Barricade.

"She is out with Arcee," Barricade growled back at the ninja.

"She should be here training!" Stormshadow snarled to no one in particular.

"Maybe you should put a leash on her?" Suggested Barricade.

Stormshadow gave him a strange look of puzzlement.

"Hey, it works!" Barricade said, defending his idea, "I put one on Frenzy when we became partners and now he never leaves!"

Frenzy just shook a fist inside Barricade, not looking up from his new laptop's screen.

"Um, right," Stormshadow replied, "maybe I'll try that idea if I don't get a better suggestion!"

"You can't deny there I have proof it works!" Barricade called to the ninja's retreating back.

***

"It's time to go over the plan," Duke said sternly as he looked over his fellow Sigma's in the conference room.

The others nodded, they already knew the plan – but it was better to go over it again than regret not doing so.

"Hi-tech, Stone and Spirit will be in the party, the rest of us will be waiting in our hiding places. Those in the party will make up excuses for our absence by saying that we are on a mission but will be attending later," Duke explained.

"I'll have Rocket's Sigma suit on me in case she wants it," Hi-tech added.

"How long will we have to wait?" Tunnel Rat asked.

"We wait for Cobra to make an appearance, then Rocket will give us a signal to go ahead," replied Duke.

"Do we know what this signal is?" Scarlett wondered.

"She'll attack Cobra Commander, distracting the Troopers for us," Duke answered.

"What about those Decepticons?" Stone asked, looking at Duke.

"The Autobots will be taking care of them for us?"

"Are you sure they will come through?" Spirit asked, a little uncertain to trust a machine – even if it was living.

"I'm sure Optimus won't let us down!" Duke said with confidence.

***

The Autobots were chatting and catching up with each other's news when Prowl walked back into the room and handed Arcee a data chip.

"Give that to Barricade and tell him to meet Ratchet at those coordinates," he explained to her.

"Okay," Arcee replied and gave the chip to Rocket to hold for her while she transformed.

"The area is of strategic value to us," Prowl said as Rocket placed the chip into the backpack she was wearing and climbed onto Arcee.

Rocket nodded her head and Arcee drove off.

"Hey," Hot Shot pointed out, "why does she get to drive inside the base, Optimus?"

***

"Stormshadow was looking for you," Barricade said to Rocket as she got off Arcee, "don't be surprised if he puts a leash on you soon."

"Why would he want to put a leash on me? I'm not a dog," Rocket replied, feeling puzzled.

"No wonder he gave me a strange look when I suggested it," mused Barricade.

"You suggested to Stormshadow that he puts a leash on me?" Rocket screamed.

"Well, it's a good suggestion, he is always looking for you anyway," Barricade felt put out that no one liked his suggestion.

"Enough of this, Rocket give me that data chip and take Frenzy for a walk will you?" Arcee broke up the beginning of a fight.

Grumbling Rocket complied and pulled Frenzy out of the hanger with her to search for Stormshadow.

"What is it?" Barricade asked as he transformed.

"Ratchet met with me, asked me to give this to you. It's coordinates to meet with him tomorrow," Arcee replied as she handed over the data chip.

"Do you think I should go through with this?" Barricade asked softly, looking at the data chip in his hand.

Arcee looked at in surprise, "you're asking for my opinion?"

Barricade just growled and stalked off to his corner in the hanger.

***

"What is that thing doing here?" Stormshadow demanded when he walked into the dojo.

"Doing shuriken practice with me," Rocket replied, glancing at Frenzy.

The two of them were standing side by side throwing shurikens at some moving targets.

Stormshadow shook his head in disgust and took his usual place to critique Rocket's training.

TBC…


	20. Preparations

"Mom, why did we have to be here so early?" Matt wailed as he followed his parents into the hotel.

"Simple," Lady Jaye replied, "we have to make everything is just perfect for tonight!"

"And that justifies booking a room to stay in overnight too?" Grumbled Flint.

"Well, the party is going to last till the early hours - it's safer to stay here than driving all the way back home," Lady Jaye countered easily while smiling disarmingly.

Flint shared a look with his son, one that said that they were doomed males.

***

Barricade became aware that someone was busy poking him on his driver's side door. Growling, he came out of recharge while transforming, ready to squish the meat sack that dared to disturb him.

It wasn't a human, it was Arcee.

"Where's Frenzy?" We are needed in the throne room soon," she said, while stepping back from the growling mech.

"If he isn't with me - I'll give you one guess to where he is!" Barricade snarled, and stalked out the hanger in his robot mode - not bothering that the door to the Subterranean base was not big enough for him.

Perplexed, Arcee hurried after him, wondering where he was going.

***

"Poor Flint, he and Matt don't look so happy," Duke commented where he was hiding.

He was concealed on the roof, looking down into the ball room through the glass roof.

"Ever wonder why these hotels always seem to have glass roofs?" Scarlett asked, standing next to Duke.

"It looks fancy I guess," Tunnel Rat answered via the Sigma gauntlet, he was hiding below the hotel in the sewers.

"How many people are coming amigo?" Long Range asked, concealed in the hotel's parking garage with the R.O.C.C.

"Don't ask me," replied Scarlett, "I let Lady Jaye handle everything."

"She is the only one that is looking happy," Duke said, continuing his observation of the scene below.

***

"A few more hours in Earth time," Starscream broke the silence in the pilot's cabin in the shuttle.

"Why do you continue to insist on using human time?" Soundwave asked.

"It's easier to work by their time while on the planet," replied Starscream.

The cabin sank back into silence.

"It's quiet back there," Soundwave remarked after a few minutes.

"Hopefully they have killed each other," said Starscream, a little hopefully.

"No, I still sense my cassette's sparks," corrected Soundwave, "I am loathe to check up to see what they are doing."

"Just leave them alone, we are nearly there anyway," Starscream leaned back in his seat.

Feeling a bit worried, Soundwave ignored the feeling and continued to fly the shuttle towards Earth.

***

"Matt, go sit in the corner where you aren't in the way of the decorators!" Ordered Lady Jaye, while keeping an eye on what the caterers were doing.

Flint sent his son a death glare, how dare he get to sit in the corner while he, Flint, had to blow up balloons?

Matt just cheekily stuck his tongue out at his father, and pulled out a hand held game.

***

"Where are we going Barricade?" Arcee asked, both Transformers had to stoop down to walk through the corridors in their robot mode.

"Rocket's quarters," growled back Barricade.

"But I thought you and Rocket had managed to put a stop to him sleeping in Rocket's quarters?" Arcee pointed out.

Barricade gave another growl, "so did I!"

He stopped by a room, Arcee peered around him.

"What happened to the door?" She wondered aloud.

"A combination of Frenzy and Stormshadow," Barricade replied as he stepped over the splinters.

Arcee looked into the room, "they're not here!"

***

"Vhy aren't you training?" Demanded the Baroness.

Rocket looked up from her cup of coffee, "Stormshadow gave me the day off last night, said something about getting ready for a mission today and not needing me in the way," she replied.

"So you and dat thing are sitting here, doing nothing?" Baroness gave a glare to Frenzy.

He was busy working on his laptop as usually.

"We aren't just sitting around doing nothing!" Rocket replied angrily.

Firefly sauntered over, "so what are the two of you doing in the canteen then?"

"Well," Rocket looked up at him, "I'm consuming large quantities of coffee, while Frenzy is downloading bootleg anime for me."

"Vat?" Baroness asked shocked.

"Isn't that bad, you know, downloading bootleg anime?" Firefly asked, concerned.

Rocket begun laughing, "we are members of an international terrorist organisation and you are upset that I'm downloading illegal anime?"

"I meant the quality," snarled Firefly.

"No, Frenzy can get the best easily," smiled Rocket.

Baroness gave a sigh and walked off.

"What are you getting anyway?" Firefly asked curiously.

"I don't know, Frenzy is keeping that as a surprise for me," answered Rocket, "but we stayed up last night watching Death Note."

"You stayed up all night when you knew we had a mission tonight?" A new voice hissed.

Rocket and Firefly looked up to see Stormshadow giving Rocket a glare.

"Good morning to you too!" Rocket greeted brightly.

"How's it going ninja boy?" Firefly clapped a hand on Stormshadow's shoulder, ignoring the evil eye the ninja gave him, "Cobra Commander wants the two of us for a mission briefing in half an hour."

Shaking off Firefly's hand, Stormshadow gave Rocket one last death glare before leaving, Firefly following after him.

After a few minutes of silence, Rocket finished her current cup of coffee and started on about her twentieth of the morning.

She had realised last night after training that she hadn't, along with double-cheese burgers, consumed any for ages. Thinking along the lines that Saturday might be her last day - she had indulged herself. She had even threatened the cook in the canteen to make her cheese burgers for breakfast, and for later on, lunch.

Frenzy looked up from the laptop and gave the coffee cup a sidelong glance.

"Cccan Fffrenzy try some?" He asked.

Rocket looked at him in surprise, "but won't it be bad for you, fry your systems or something?"

"Ppplease?" Frenzy begged, trying to pout robotically.

"Fine, just don't blame later when your insides rust!" Rocket gave in and poured him a cup of coffee.

'At least Ratchet might have something to actually look at tonight,' she thought to herself as she watched the Decepticon guzzle the drink down.

Frenzy finished the coffee and slammed the cup onto the table.

"More!" He demanded.

Smiling to herself, Rocket poured another cup.

She settled back with her own cup and savoured the taste of the liquid.

***

"What do you mean you can't sense him anywhere?" Demanded Arcee.

"If he wants to make it impossible to track him down, then so be it!" Barricade yelled back angrily.

"Don't yell at me!" Arcee shouted back.

***

"So Prowl, what plan have you come up with?" Optimus asked the tactician.

"Barricade will meet up with Ratchet on this hill here," Prowl pointed to a hill on the map he had, "to avoid detection, the rest of us - minus Bumblebee as he will be with his human," Prowl broke off to glare at the scout.

Bumblebee shrugged, "Was I supposed to tell them they couldn't go to their Spring Dance because I needed to go on a mission instead?"

"Prowl please continue," Optimus instructed.

Giving one last glare to Bumblebee, Prowl turned back to his map, "to avoid detection, the rest of us will travel in our alternate modes until we are two miles away. We will then continue the rest of the way on foot."

"Are those bovine?" Wheeljack interrupted, looking at the map in interest.

The map Prowl had got from something on the Internet called Google Earth, there just so happened to be cows on the field on the day when the photo was taken.

"Yes," Prowl growled, "now can we please get back to the mission briefing?"

"Oh, right," Wheeljack answered sheepishly.

"Anyway," Prowl looked around for anymore interrupters before continuing, "Ironhide will take on Barricade, with Prime on standby for assistance. Ratchet will hopefully had secured Frenzy by the time we get there, but if not - Wheeljack and Landmine will have the duty of catching him. The rest of us will secure Barricade."

"Any questions?" Asked Optimus, looking around.

The other Autobot's shook their heads in the negative.

***

"You little slagger!" Roared Barricade as he stormed into the canteen.

"What's up?" Rocket asked, a bit nervously, she noticed that both Barricade and Arcee seemed to be wearing dents that they didn't have the day before.

"Do you know how long we have been searching for you?" Arcee screeched in reply.

"I'm not a mind reader," Rocket said, looking up at the two angry Transformers.

"We don't have time for this!" Snarled Barricade and he grabbed Frenzy in his hand and turned to storm out the room, "come on femme! We are late already for the meeting!"

"I have a name you know!" Arcee yelled at him as she followed him out.

Rocket sat back - left alone to enjoy her coffee in peace.

***

"Earth in sight," Soundwave pointed out.

Starscream cackled in anticipation.

TBC...


	21. The Party Begins

The cloaked Cobra Cruiser floated unseen above the hotel, watching as the guests arrived for the party.

"Urg," snarled the Baroness, "dere's dat despicable Covergirl! I hope she trips on her high heels!"

"No such luck," Firefly said to her, "Covergirl has catwalk experience."

"Darn," Baroness muttered, and continued to insult each guest as they arrived.

"Is Zartan in position?" Cobra Commander asked Destro, who was standing next to him.

"Yes Sir, Zartan has assumed the disguise of one of the waiters," replied Destro.

"Good, we'll wait for everyone to arrive before we launch our attack," Cobra Commander tightened his grip on his sceptre and grinned evilly beneath his mask.

***

"Hey Scott," Zephyr was standing on the hotel steps looking out at the parking lot, "doesn't that police car look familiar to you?"

Scott and S.P.U.D.D paused and looked back at the police car Zephyr was pointing out.

"Well, it does have a Cobra logo on it," agreed Scott.

"Do you think we should do anything about it?" Asked Zephyr.

"Nah, let's just leave it alone," Scott replied and continued walking into the hotel.

After a moments hesitation, Zephyr followed.

***

Arcee parked next to Barricade, turning off her hologram, "so, are you going to Ratchet?" She asked.

"Yes, will you cover for me?" He replied.

"Sure, I'll make up a suitable excuse when they discover you to be missing," said Arcee.

"Wwhy Bbbaricade going to Aaautobot?" A angry snarl came from inside Barricade.

"I need to have your head checked out!" Barricade growled in reply.

"Fffrenzy not going!" Frenzy screamed, and began ripping up Barricade's upholstery in protest.

"Stop that - or that Autobot medic will have a patient to put back together!" Barricade revved his engine and took off out of the parking lot.

Arcee could hear Frenzy's screams fading away as they disappeared over the horizon.

***

"Hey, what's this?" Wheeljack held up a large bag he had found lying around the base.

"That's Rockets," Red Alert replied, "it's her possessions that she left here when she visited."

"Why did she leave her stuff here?" Wheeljack asked as he poked the bag with one finger.

"So she didn't lose it when she leaves Cobra, that's why," Red Alert said, as he watched a fluffy teddy bear fall out of the bag onto the ground.

"What kind of spy has a teddy bear?" Asked Hot Shot, who was listening it, and picked up the bear.

Bumblebee remained silent, but made a note to himself to hide Mr. Floppy before Hot Shot found out about him.

"Leave that alone," barked Ironhide as he walked into the room, "Rocket asked us to look after it for her - not scratch around in her stuff."

"Sorry," apologised Wheeljack, and he carefully replaced the bag.

Optimus strolled into the room followed by the rest of the Autobots who weren't already there.

"We are leaving now," Optimus commanded, "Bumblebee, when are you leaving to pick up the humans?"

"In half an hour," replied Bumblebee.

"We'll see you later then," nodded Optimus.

He and the Autobots minus Bumblebee left the base for their mission.

Bumblebee waved them goodbye, before hurrying inside to hide his teddy bear from Hot Shot.

***

"I wonder why no one has come to check up on us yet?" Rumble wondered aloud, as he rolled a pair of die.

"Starscream has probably convinced Soundwave that we have killed each other off," Skywarp remarked as he watched Rumble move his counter along the board.

"Either that or they don't care anymore about what we are doing," added Laserbeak, as she picked up the die.

"Give me 200 credits Ravage, I've passed Go!" Rumble yelled back at Ravage, who was acting as the banker - the only one they trusted to do so.

"Coming right up," Ravage yelled and moments later the credits hit the back of Rumble's head.

"Thanks!" Rumble yelled.

"You landed on one of my hotels!" Skywarp pointed out to Laserbeak, "that's 50 credits you owe me!"

Laserbeak grumbled, but handed over the credits.

"Are you sure you don't want to join the game Buzzsaw?" Asked Rumble.

The cassette in question shook his head and continued on painting faces on Thundercracker and Ratbat.

"You landed on Chance!" Laserbeak said to Skywarp.

"Hopefully it says I've won a competition and I get money!" Skywarp said gleefully as he picked up a Chance card.

The other two players watched his face fall as he read the card.

"What is it? What is it?" Rumble demanded.

Silently, Skywarp showed them the card.

"Go straight to the Autobot brig, do not pass Go, do not collect 200 credits!" Read out Laserbeak, while the other cassettes sniggered at the seeker's misfortune.

***

"All right then old chap, we are heading off now," Stone said to Duke as he sat down in the Dragonhawk.

"Don't you think you lot are leaving a little late?" Asked Scarlett.

"We are arriving fashionably late," replied Stone with a grin.

"To Lady Jaye, there is no such thing as fashionably late - just late!" Warned Scarlett.

"Relax," Duke said, "arriving late helps with the excuse that we are all on a mission."

"I suppose so," agreed Scarlett.

She and Duke waited for the Dragonhawk, as they continued to hide.

***

Ratchet stood on top of the hill, where he was supposed to be meeting Barricade.

A faint screaming floated towards his auditory receptors, it was coming steadily closer towards his location.

He sighed, it looked like would be dealing with an unhappy patient on his hands.

He spotted Barricade coming racing down the dirt road towards the hill.

Ratchet waited for Barricade to drive up towards him, the Decepticon making slow progress up as his vehicle body was not built for this type of terrain.

Finally he made it to the top and drove warily towards the Autobot medic.

"So you came!" Ratchet yelled over Frenzy's screaming.

"What's that? I can't hear you!" Yelled back Barricade.

"Do you want me to check out your auditory receptors after I've done with Frenzy?" Ratchet yelled his question.

"I said I can't hear! I think this little slagger has damage my hearing! Can you check out my auditory receptors?" Barricade yelled.

Ratchet sighed again, it was going to be a long night.

"Hold still!" He yelled, while waving his hands in a sign he hoped Barricade would understand.

Scanning Barricade, Ratchet found out there was nothing wrong with the Decepticon's hearing other than the fact that Barricade's auditory receptors had shut themselves down automatically.

It took a few minutes for the medic to bring them online again.

"I can hear!" Yelled Barricade happily, "I'm going to open my door so be ready to grab Frenzy!"

Ratchet nodded and positioned his hands to grab Frenzy when he tried to escape out of Barricade.

Frenzy flattened himself against the opposite door and hissed as Ratchet stuck his hand into Barricade to grab him.

"Ow!" Snarled Ratchet as he withdraw a struggling Frenzy out of Barricade, "he bit me!"

Barricade chuckled evilly and transformed.

"I think I might have messed up his wiring when I…" Barricade was cut short as Ironhide slammed into him.

The two mechs rolled down the hill, kicking and punching each other.

Ratchet and Frenzy watched them silently for a moment before turning to look at each other.

"No more biting and I might not permanently remove your vocal processor," Ratchet threatened the little Decepticon.

Frenzy glared in reply.

***

Rocket's daydreams were interrupted by a squeal from Baroness.

She looked up from where she was sitting with Stormshadow to see what the commotion was about.

Firefly answered her unspoken question, "the Dragonhawk has just arrived Cobra Commander!"

"The Dragonhawk?" Repeated Cobra Commander, "but that isn't big enough to carry all the Sigmas!"

"Maybe the others will be following in the R.O.C.C?" Stormshadow spoke up.

"It still doesn't explain why they are late," Destro commented.

"Get Zartan to follow them and find out what is going on!" Ordered Cobra Commander.

***

"Entering Earth's atmosphere, preparing engines for landing," Soundwave said as the temperature outside the shuttle begun to heat up.

"Soundwave, the balance is off," Starscream indicated towards one of the dials.

"A minor problem, nothing to fear," replied Soundwave.

"Nothing to fear?" Shrieked Starscream, "if the balance is off we can't land properly! Soundwave - we are going to crash!"

"In all the training simulations that I have done, the damage from the crash is minor," Soundwave stated calmly as the shuttle began to spin wildly towards the ground.

"Training simulations?" Asked Starscream blankly, "Soundwave - have you ever landed a shuttle before?"

"No, I am a communications officer, not a pilot," Answered Soundwave.

"We are all going to die!" Starscream screamed in panic.

***

"Arcee, Barricade - report!" Destro's voice came over the radio frequency.

"All quiet by me," replied Arcee.

There was silence for a few minutes.

"Barricade report, Barricade come in!" Ordered Destro.

Static was the only reply.

"Arcee, where is Barricade?" Questioned Destro angrily.

"Beats me, I'm not his baby-sitter," Arcee replied casually.

"I beg your pardon!" Destro snarled.

"You heard me, Barricade probably thinks this mission is beneath him. In case you haven't noticed - he doesn't exactly like taking orders from 'flesh-bags'," Arcee stated.

Arcee heard Destro yell a few curses before he switched off the radio.

'I hope everything is going all right with the others,' Arcee thought.

***

Bumblebee sighed, he was so bored - he wanted to be with the others on the mission.

He became aware that someone was tapping on his window, it was Mikaela.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Finally, I thought you had slipped into recharge out of boredom!" Mikaela said as she got into him.

"Why have you left the dance?" Bumblebee asked her.

"Sam and I decided to take turns to keep you company - so you didn't get bored all by yourself in the parking lot!" Mikaela replied.

"Thanks," Bumblebee said happily.

"Hey, can't you use your holoform to come join us?" Mikaela suggested.

"I wish, but my holoform can't go too far from my body," Bumblebee sighed.

"Park closer to the school then," said Mikaela.

"I'll try, but I don't think it'll work," Bumblebee started his engine and drove as close as he could to the school building.

Mikaela got out and waited for Bumblebee's holoform to appear beside her.

"Hold thumbs!" Mikaela smiled as they went in.

***

Thundercracker became aware of screams as his body came back online.

He switched on his optics and saw that the shuttle was spinning around - due to the fact that those who weren't held down by their seat belts or welded to the floor were flying around inside the shuttle screaming their heads off.

He corrected his observation, those welded to the floor were also screaming their heads off.

He watched the scene for a few more minutes before realising that those screaming probably had a very good reason to do so.

He joined in with the screaming.

TBC…


	22. Parties, Cows, and Mt. Fuji

Ironhide had Barricade lying face down on the ground, pointing one cannon at the back of Barricades head and with one foot placed on Barricade's back to prevent him from getting up.

"Didn't I tell you I'll be waiting one night when you're all alone?" Ironhide dug his foot into Barricades back.

"Ironhide!" Barricade's voice held a hint of a plea in it, "please take your foot off my back!"

"Why, am I hurting you?" Ironhide placed more pressure onto the back.

"No please - take your foot off!" Pleaded Barricade.

"Shut up you lousy Decepticon!" Growled Ironhide.

"This is the worst torture you Autobots have ever put me through!" Barricade sobbed.

"Torture?" Ironhide was confused, all he was doing was preventing Barricade from getting up, this had to be some kind of trick, "what are you whining about?" Demanded Ironhide.

"Your foot," Barricade began.

"Is on your back, yeah I know!" Ironhide snarled.

"It's covered in bovine waste product!" Screamed Barricade.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Ironhide.

"Your foot is covered in bovine excrement!" Barricade yelled.

"What?" Ironhide glanced down at the foot on Barricade's back, sure enough, he had tramped in some cow dung.

"Oh slag!" Ironhide swore.

***

Optimus was standing by a small dam that was there for the cows to drink from. He was waiting for Ironhide to report in.

Optimus watched as a few cows ambled around the nearby fields, when he heard the sound of someone running.

He looked up from the cows to see Barricade running towards him, followed close behind by Ironhide. Something was wrong with this picture, it didn't look as if Ironhide was chasing Barricade, he was close enough to tackle the Decepticon anytime he liked. Ironhide wasn't making any attempt to grab the other mech, and they both wore the same disgusted looking face as the other.

Deciding to see what was going on, Optimus carried on watching.

Barricade charged past him and dived into the dam, Ironhide flew into the water as well.

Something was definitely wrong with this picture, Transformers as a rule - don't swim. The lack of water on Cybertron wrote that rule, but here were two mortal enemies splashing around together in water.

Had he missed something?

"I hate you slagging Autobots!" Screamed Barricade as he splashed around.

'Still mortal enemies,' Optimus thought, 'so what's up with the water?'

As if hearing his unspoken question, Wheeljack and Hot Shot wandered over.

"I was wondering when Ironhide was going to notice," Wheeljack remarked as he watched the scene.

"I was going to tell him, but he keeps on nagging me about Bee's and my project," said Hot Shot.

"What is going on here?" Optimus asked curiously.

"When we were walking through the bovine fields towards the rendezvous point, Ironhide, um, stepped in some bovine waste product," explained Wheeljack.

"Which must of transferred to Barricade," Hot Shot added helpfully.

"Ah, well, this explains a lot!" Commented Optimus as they continued watching the two mechs try and clean themselves.

***

"We're going to die! We're going to die!" Starscream shrieked in terror.

Soundwave was curled up in the pilot's seat, holding his head in horror.

The shuttle hit Earth.

***

Stone walked into the ballroom with Hi-tech, they were immediately spotted by Lady Jaye, who hurried over to greet them.

None of them noticed the waiter hanging around.

"There you are!" Lady Jaye said as she got close, she peered around them, "where are the others?"

"On a mission, they'll be here later," Stone explained to her.

"On a mission? They knew about the party tonight!" Lady Jaye wailed unhappily.

"It was a unavoidable mission - suddenly popped up," consoled Stone.

"What are they doing then?" Asked Lady Jaye.

Stone looked at Hi-tech for help, they were never told what mission to lie about.

"Mt. Fuji erupted - they had go help evacuate everyone from the surrounding area," Hi-tech made up under pressure.

Stone inwardly groaned at the bad lie.

"So Mt. Fuji - in Japan - has erupted?" Lady Jaye didn't sound convinced, "then why aren't you there with the Dragonhawk?"

"The ash in the air would clog up the engine," replied Stone.

"Do you know how long it will take them to get there and back?" Shrieked Lady Jaye angrily.

"They, um, took my latest invention," lied Hi-tech, "warp gates!"

"Warp gates?" Lady Jaye looked at him puzzled.

"Yes, secret technology!" Hi-tech beamed.

"We are just standing here, let's go mingle with the other guests!" Stone suggested and grabbed Hi-tech by the arm and pulled him away from any further questions.

***

"Who ever told him to make up such a stupid lie?" Duke asked, shocked.

"Who knows," Scarlett said sadly.

***

"We should check that out," Destro suggested to Cobra Commander.

"Turn on the news!" Cobra Commander ordered.

Rocket watched apprehensively as some Troopers searched for the television remote.

Arcee wasn't worried, she was also listening in, and begun creating a fake news broadcast in case Cobra decided to do what they were about to do. All she had to do was stream the fake video in on the channel's signal.

Rocket began biting her nails as one of the Troopers cheered when he found the remote control.

The monitor in the cruiser flickered and came on, showing a newscaster sitting behind a desk with a serious look on her face.

"Breaking news from Japan," she begun, "we have just confirmed that Mt. Fuji has indeed erupted," behind her, a image of a lava spewing Mt. Fuji was being shown.

"We have some footage from our correspondent in Japan," the newscaster was replaced with a screen of panicking people screaming and running for their lives.

"This is all we have on the disaster at the moment, we'll continue to update as we get more information!"

The news bulletin faded into a commercial.

Rocket let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding in.

"Who knew?" Baroness sounded shocked.

"Was it just me?" Asked Firefly, "or were some of those people yelling Gojiro?"

"Yeah they were," Buzzer agreed.

Everyone in the cruiser turned and stared at Rocket.

"What?" She asked, taking a step back.

"You're an ex-journalist, why did they use film footage?" Demanded Stormshadow.

"They probably don't have a correspondent so they used that footage for sensationalism," Rocket replied.

"I want a second opinion!" Snarled Cobra Commander.

"Change the channel!" Ordered Destro.

Arcee, still listening in, cursed. She hadn't made a second broadcast.

The screen showed another newscaster.

"Yes, it is true - Mt. Fuji has just erupted!" The man read out seriously.

"What?" Squeaked Arcee, unheard in the parking lot.

"Reports coming in say a large metal-looking object, probably a meteor, crashed inside of Mt. Fuji - causing the volcano to erupt."

Everyone in the cruiser stared fixated at the monitor.

"We don't have any footage at the moment, but we'll update as soon as we can! Now back to your regular programming."

***

"You just had to crash inside of a volcano - didn't you!" Snarled Starscream as he hovered above the destruction.

Soundwave shrugged, he was being carried between Skywarp and Thundercracker.

All the cassettes except Ravage were inside him, Ravage was draped over one arm - his tail still attached to a large sheet of metal.

***

"Cows - worse than rodent dogs!" Snarled Ironhide, dripping water.

Hot Shot and Landmine grinned, they along with Red Alert and Chromia were sitting on top of Barricade so he couldn't get away.

Wheeljack was trying to assist Ratchet in diagnosing Frenzy.

Optimus and Elita were standing to one side, observing the scene.

"Petty Bumblebee wasn't here," Hot Shot remarked, "he would have laughed himself silly!"

Ratchet walked over to them, Frenzy clutched in his fist, "Frenzy is in good condition, surprisingly, seeing as you are not a medic. There were a few wires lose, but nothing serious, he is now good as new."

Barricade just growled, it was a bit muffled coming from under the Autobots on top of him.

Ratchet handed Frenzy to Wheeljack, "I'm going to see if the humans might need medical assistance Optimus."

Optimus nodded his agreement to the medic.

***

Sam was waiting patiently for Mikaela when he saw her come to the doors and indicate to him to go to her.

Wondering what was wrong, he went to see what she wanted.

***

Lady Jaye seemed to had forgotten about being angry with them, when she caught up with them trapped in a corner.

She grabbed Stone by the arm and dragged him off.

"I found a old friend you have to talk too!" She smiled happily.

"I have too?" Stone sounded glum.

"Here we go, you remember Covergirl and NoaWhan don't you?" Lady Jaye asked.

"Of course," replied Stone, as Lady Jaye hurried off to find a new victim.

"Hey Stone, long time no see," NoaWhan greeted.

"Yes, last time we met was when we were planting bombs in that Cobra base," smiled Stone.

NoaWhan smiled back.

"Excuse," Covergirl said, "I'm going to get a drink - you two want anything?"

NoaWhan and Stone shook their heads.

***

Lady Jaye found her husband skulking around in a dark corner.

"Have you seen Matt anywhere?" She asked Flint.

"He is over there with Scott and Whitefang," Flint replied - pointing to the group.

"Oh dear," Lady Jaye said, "I hope they don't make him dog crazy again - we have just got him out of that craze!"

"Don't worry," Flint assured her, "have you seen Duke yet?"

"He isn't here yet," replied Lady Jaye.

"But I saw Stone walking around!" Protested Flint.

"Yes he is here, but Duke isn't - apparently he is in Japan on a mission but will be back soon," said Lady Jaye angrily.

"Did Duke fail Geography?" Asked an puzzled Flint.

***

"So, where are we going?" Thundercracker asked as they flew in the direction ordered by Soundwave.

"Towards Frenzy!" Soundwave replied.

***

"So you used to do research?" Remarked Hi-tech.

"Yes," replied Fanfictionfan.

"Under the cover of reading fanfiction?" Asked Hi-tech.

"I just liked the name," smiled Fanfictionfan

"It is certainly unique for a GI: Joe," Hi-tech commented.

***

"How much longer?" Asked Firefly.

"Soon, very, very soon!" Replied Cobra Commander evilly.

TBC...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random G.I. Joes were cameo characters of those who reviewed the story back on FF.net, where I'd originally posted this story.


	23. Confusion and Boredom

"What's up Mikaela?" Sam asked as he followed her out of the dance hall.

"It's Bee," Mikaela answered and pointed to a shy looking teen hovering out in the corridor, "he is too shy to come join the fun in his holo-form."

"That's Bee?" Sam looked at the teen, who gave a half-hearted wave in greeting.

"You got to help me Sam, he keeps making up excuses on why he can't join us!" Mikaela sounded exasperated.

"Come on Bee," Sam walked up to Bumblebee's holo-form, "you have faced scary Decepticons in battle, one small dance can't be that scary!"

***

Arcee was bored, so very bored. Waiting in the parking lot for the action to start.

She was busy humming some Earth song she had heard online the other day, when Ratchet parked next to her.

"What are you doing here? Barricade has gone to meet you at the rendezvous point already!" Arcee shrieked her question.

"Relax, Barricade and Frenzy are in our custody, I'm here to help in case the human's need medical assistance," Ratchet answered calmly.

"I wish the human's would start their plan already - I'm so bored just sitting here!" Arcee said after a few minutes of silence.

***

"Are you sure we are heading in the right direction Soundwave?" Thundercracker asked for the umpteenth time.

"Positive," Soundwave answered in his infuriating monotone.

"Are we there yet?" Skywarp groaned, his arms were beginning to ache from carrying Soundwave.

"Negative, we still have a long way to go yet," Soundwave replied.

"Hey Starscream, why don't you help us out here?" Skywarp yelled at his leader's back.

Starscream ignored him and continued to fly ahead.

***

Duke gave a sigh, waiting for Cobra to gatecrash the party was starting to get boring, it almost seemed as if they were not going to show up.

"Hey Duke," Spirit greeted as he appeared next to Duke.

"Hey Spirit," Duke replied.

It took him several minutes to work out what was wrong with the greeting.

"Spirit? What are you doing here? You are supposed to be in the party!" Duke hissed.

"Billy was not feeling well, so I had to look after him, doing so - I missed the Dragonhawk," Spirit explained.

"Well, it can't be helped now," Duke mused, "is Billy going to be all right?"

"Yes Duke, I just think he ate too many of Tunnel Rat's burgers," Spirit gave a small smile.

"Join up with Scarlett in her position and be ready for the signal," Duke ordered.

Spirit nodded and disappeared off to where Scarlett was hiding.

***

Rocket tried to stifle a yawn but didn't quite succeed.

"Bored?" Asked Firefly, smirking a bit.

"Not really," she replied, "just tired of waiting around."

"It is almost time for the operation to commence," Stormshadow said, he was standing in a dark corner as usual.

Cobra Commander gave a evil chuckle.

"Excuse me Commander, but are we waiting for the rest of the Sigma's to appear?" Zartan enquired curiously.

"I'm giving them until 10pm to make a appearance, if they don't come - well then they can come and find the dead bodies of their fallen comrades when they do come!" Cobra Commander cackled evilly.

***

Frenzy had tried biting, that didn't work - and neither did whacking Wheeljack's hand repeatedly with a shuriken either.

He had to admit to himself that he was well and truly stuck with no way out for himself and Barricade.

He was about to give up hope when he felt a familiar presence in his mind.

Soundwave… it had to be!

_'Frenzy, I am on Earth. Report your status?'_

Was it really Soundwave? Had he come to fetch Frenzy from this mud ball of a planet?

_'Frenzy, report!'_

Was it a Autobot trick? Were they playing with his mind?

_'Frenzy! Answer me when I talk to you!'_

It could be no one else, only Soundwave could sound angry in a monotone!

_'Soundwave? Are you really here?'_

_'Affirmative, report your status!'_

_'Autobot prisoner along with Barricade!'_

_'How many Autobots at your current location?'_

_'I think eight, there are more in different locations.'_

_'I am coming, hang on - you will soon be free.'_

_'I will!'_

***

Sam and Mikaela had managed to coax Bumblebee into the dance hall, where he was now hiding in a dark corner avoiding anybody's eye.

"Bee, it is no fun if you don't relax and start to enjoy yourself!" Mikaela had her arms crossed and a determined expression on her face. She would get Bumblebee onto the dance floor even if was the last thing she did.

"Chill, Mikaela! He'll come out and dance when he is ready," Sam tried to placate his girlfriend.

Mikaela flicked her hair and begun tapping a foot impatiently.

Seeing the signs of a meltdown, Sam jumped into action.

"How about the two of us dance and let Bee see how much fun we are having?" He suggested.

"Fine," She uncrossed her arms, "unlike a certain giant robot - I intend on having fun this evening!" And stalked off towards the dance floor.

Sam trailed behind her, mouthing an apology for having a psycho girlfriend to Bumblebee over his shoulder.

***

Stone found himself hiding in a corner along with Flint, both were clutching a plate of food each and keeping a wary eye out for Lady Jaye.

"She is a demon when it comes to parties," Flint muttered, "it must come from her socialite days as an actress."

"When you think you are safe, she comes up behind you to drag you off to meet some one," Stone added.

"Wish you could've meet my daughter, but she is working as a journalist somewhere," Flint said, while munching a cheese cube.

"You don't say," Stone replied, while thinking that Flint's daughter was a lot closer than the man knew.

"How much longer do you think Duke and the others are going to take?" Flint asked, while he munched on another cheese cube.

"I don't know, depends on how long the mission takes," Stone answered

"I don't know why, but every time I ask you or Hi-tech how much longer the mission is going to take, I keep getting this feeling like you aren't telling me something," Flint's voice held a hint of suspicion in it.

"I don't know what you are talking about?" Stone tried to sound surprised, but he saw Flint's eyes narrow in suspicion.

"If you say so," replied Flint.

***

"Oh my God! Who is that cute boy you have hidden in the corner!" Squealed one of Mikaela's "in-crowed" friends.

"Um, Sam's cousin," she lied.

Her friends had cornered her in the bathroom, when she had gone to touch up her make-up.

"Sam's cousin? Sam - as in that nerd who tried to sell broken glasses in class?" One of her other friends questioned.

"In case you haven't noticed - I'm dating that nerd!" Mikaela felt a rush of anger.

"Oh _sorry_! I didn't realise!" Her friend gave a mock apology, while giving her a sympathetic look - clearly thinking that Mikaela's standards were dropping.

Before she punched her friend, Mikaela stood up, "I'm finished here," and strode out of the bathroom.

"Wait!" Called another friend after her, "you still haven't told us the cute boy's name yet!"

***

"We have a problem," announced Soundwave.

The seekers stopped flying, and Starscream turned around to face Soundwave.

"What sort of problem?" Starscream hissed.

"Frenzy has informed me that he and Barricade are currently prisoners of the Autobots," Soundwave answered.

"Well, that's just slagging perfect!" Snarled Skywarp.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Asked Thundercracker worriedly.

"We can just abandon them," suggested Starscream evilly - earning him a dirty look from all other Decepticons in the area.

They floated around in the air for a few minutes, trying to come up with a good plan.

Skywarp looked up suddenly at Starscream, a evil grin plastered on his face.

"What?" Demanded Starscream suspiciously.

"I have a plan to distract the Autobots, but it is going to need Starscream's acting ability," he pointed a finger at Starscream, his grin only getting bigger.

"Why do I think I'm not going to like this plan?" Whimpered Starscream sadly.

***

"We have to keep an eye on Bee!" Mikaela hissed as soon as she was within ear range of Sam.

"Why?" Sam looked confused.

"Because the bitch brigade is after him!" She replied.

"The what is after him?" Sam only grew more confused.

"You know, the slut squad!" Mikaela growled.

"Oh right," Sam tried not to let the confusion show on his face, "and who are they?"

"Girls I formally called my friends!" She snarled angrily.

Sam was really confused now, what had happened in the bathroom to make Mikaela refer to her friends like she was doing now?

"Oh no! One is hunting him!" Mikaela cried out, and ran in Bumblebee's direction.

Sam shook his head, he had no idea of what was going on - only that females were strange creatures and that he shouldn't try too hard to interrupted their actions.

He only knew he should never allow Mikaela to know that he had referred to her as a strange creature in his thoughts.

As he was musing on the strange actions of his girlfriend, he felt a hand grasp his arm, and turned to face a beaming girl.

"Sam right?" She asked, and Sam nodded, "Mikaela has told me so much about you!"

"She has?" Sam had no idea who this girl was.

"But she hasn't said anything about your cute cousin!" Simpered the girl.

"My cousin?" What was this girl talking about?

"You know - the shy one hanging around in that corner over there," the girl gushed.

"I have a shy cousin hanging around in a corner?" Were all the girls crazy tonight?

"Don't play naïve!" She gave a giggle, "you know who I'm talking about!"

"Um, excuse me - I need to, um, check on my car!" Sam wrenched his arm out of her grip - and ran for his life.

***

"It is ten minutes to 10pm, sir!" One of the Troopers called out.

"Arriving ten minutes won't hurt anybody - much!" Cackled Cobra Commander, "Troopers prepare to attack!"

Rocket felt sick in her stomach, the moment had finally arrived.

"Troopers and B.A.T.S in position sir!" Called out Destro.

Cobra Commander stood up and made a dramatic pose with his cape, "the moment has arrived! Prepare for Cobra's victory!" The last bit was shrieked.

Rocket stood up as well, and followed Stormshadow out of the cruiser.

'Please don't let anyone get hurt!' She thought anxiously.

TBC…


	24. Zen Opal Archer

Sam had never felt more embarrassed before in his entire life. Nothing that had happened to him before could come close to what he was feeling at the moment.

Not when his "car" had played love songs when he gave Mikaela a lift in it for the first time, not when the "car" "broke down" with Mikaela inside during the lift home and not even when his mother had started talking about "that" with Mikaela hiding within earshot nearby.

One constant, it seemed, with all these embarrassing moments, was Mikaela – and right now was no different.

Sam felt his cheeks slowly turn red as he watched Mikaela "play" tug-of-war with another girl – most probably another former friend of hers. There seemed to be a lot of them wandering the dance floor. The metaphoric rope that they were using was Bumblebee's solid holo-form.

Using a solid version of a holo-gram used up more power than a normal unable-to-touch holo-gram, but it sure stopped mass panicked reactions when someone goes through the person they had just bumped into on a busy dance floor.

Sam watched as the two girls (each holding one of Bumblebee's arms) tugged as of their lives depended on it. Bumblebee stared at Sam for help, but Sam was too chicken to step in between the two cat-fighting girls.

'Sorry Bee,' Sam mentally apolgised.

***

"I'm not doing it!" Screeched Starscream angrily.

The group was nearing Frenzy and Barricade's position. Skywarp had managed to teleport them some of the distance – but didn't have enough power to go all the way.

They were discussing the plan to rescue Frenzy and Barricade from the Autobot's clutches. Unfortunately – they were having a hard time persuading Starscream to do his part.

"Come on!" Begged Thundercracker, "it'll be fun!"

"Affirmative," agreed Soundwave, "it will indeed be amusing."

"For you lot maybe!" Starscream snarled back, "but I'm the one who is going to look like a slagging idiot!"

"But this luminous paint I have stashed away will help you to play the part perfectly!" Skywarp tried.

"Why do you have luminous paint stashed away in your subs-pace?" Starscream asked suspiciously.

"Never ask a prankster such a question," retorted Skywarp.

Starscream sighed, it was three mechs plus cassettes against him. Somehow, he felt, no matter how much he protested – he would still end up doing what they wanted him to do.

***

"Duke, they're moving in!" Alerted Scarlett from her vantage point.

"All right everyone," Duke said, "wait for Rocket's signal before moving in!"

A chorus of affirmatives answered him back.

***

"Will you stop trying to bite me?" Wheeljack asked the cassette being held in his fist.

"Gggo ssslag yourself!" Frenzy spat back at him.

"I thought that Soundwave would've frowned upon you cassettes for swearing," Wheeljack replied sternly.

"Fffrag off!" Was screamed back.

***

"Do you think Stone and Hi-tech are acting a bit odd?" Flint asked his wife.

He had managed to track her down standing by herself.

"Acting odd how?" Lady Jaye responded with a quizzical look.

"Like they are expecting something to happen," Flint answered.

"Of course they are expecting something to happen!" Said Lady Jaye, "they are expecting the rest of their team to arrive!"

"I'm sure something else is up," Flint muttered, not convinced with his wife's answer.

***

"All Troopers in position Cobra Commander," Destro reported.

"Excellent!" Cackled Cobra Commander, "we'll go in on my signal."

'Yippee,' thought Rocket.

***

"Come on Scott! Can't you please build me a dog like S.P.U.D.D too?" Matt pleaded.

"I can't, S.P.U.D.D is unique – I'll never be able to create another like him again," Scott replied firmly.

Any protests from Matt were drowned out by a huge explosion.

Funny how there are never any small explosions.

"It's Cobra!" An unidentifiable voice screamed out somewhere in the ballroom.

"Cobra?" Zephyr clutched Scott's arm in panic, "what are they doing here?"

"I don't know – let's get somewhere safe," responded Scott.

Matt and Zephyr nodded in agreement.

***

"Where's Matt?" Screamed Lady Jaye to Flint, while kicking a random Trooper out of her way.

"I don't know, he'll know to get to safety!" Flint shouted back why punching another random Trooper who was unlucky enough to be within reach.

"What are they doing here?" Covergirl asked, as she and Lady Jaye met up in the midst of the confusion.

"I don't know – I just want to know where my son is!" Lady Jaye replied.

" I see him," Flint cried out, "he's with Scott – getting out of here!"

"Oh thank goodness," Lady Jaye sighed with relief, "now I can concentrate on kicking Cobra's ass!"

***

"It's happening Ratchet, they want me to go in!" Arcee called out.

"You can't – you'll endanger the human's lives!" Ratchet replied.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Arcee snapped, "but I want to help Rocket out!"

***

"That doorway is blocked too!" Zephyr wailed, as they saw some Troopers blocking the door from escape.

"What are we going to do?" Matt asked, his eyes darting around desperately, "how are we going to get out of here?"

Scott tried to think of a way to use S.P.U.D.D to help them to get to safety, but there was to much chaos going on to think clearly.

A maniacal laugh filled the room, people stopped fighting to look at the newcomer.

"Cobra Commander," snarled Flint evilly.

Cobra Commander was grinning evilly under his mask – everything was going so perfectly to plan. Here he had his prey caught like fish in a barrel.

"How could you hold a reunion party without inviting us?" He called out.

His only reply was a couple of glares from the interrupted party guests.

"What do you want here?" Flint shouted his question.

"Do you really have to ask? To destroy you of course!" Laughed Cobra Commander.

Baroness sniggered at his side.

"You'll never get away with this," Flint yelled as he charged Cobra Commander and threw the bread knife he had picked up.

A figure stepped out from behind Cobra Commander and threw a shuriken knocking the knife off course.

Flint heard his wife gasp, and felt his mouth drop open as he gazed at the figure.

"No," he whispered.

***

"Rocket has made her appearance," Scarlett reported to Duke.

"How are her parents taking it?" Duke inquired.

"I think they are in a state of shock at the moment," Scarlett replied.

***

"How could you betray us like this?" Screamed Lady Jaye at Rocket.

"Easily," Rocket replied with a fiendish grin.

"They're your parents?" Demanded Stormshadow.

"Not anymore!" Yelled Flint, "you are no daughter of mine!"

"Correct," Rocket replied, "you were never my father."

Lady Jaye stepped back a bit in shock from the cold tone that Rocket had used.

"Ah, how touching," jeered Zartan, "a family reunion!"

"Kill him!" Cobra Commander ordered, "prove your loyalty to Cobra and shoot him!"

"With pleasure," Rocket grinned and pulled out her firearm.

Flint stepped back now too, out of shock.

Rocket aimed her gun on Flint, ignoring Lady Jaye's cries for her to come to her senses.

"Forgive me," Rocket said, before spinning around and shooting Cobra Commander instead.

***

"That's the signal!" Yelled Duke, "go in now!"

"I've been waiting to hear that all night!" Replied Tunnel Rat happily.

***

Rocket dived to the floor and rolled away as soon as she fired. She knew the shot wouldn't have had an effect on Cobra Commander's uniform but it had the desired affect that she wanted. Confusion ruled the ballroom again as Sigma 6 made their appearance.

Letting everyone deal with their own battles, she made her way to her brother.

"Matt," Rocket said, as she grabbed his shirt collar.

"Let me go you traitor!" He yelled – trying to shake her off.

"I'm not a traitor – that was all an act, now let me get you out of here!" Rocket replied as she ignored the pain in her ankle from S.P.U.D.D biting it.

"How can we trust you?" Demanded Zephyr.

"I just shot Cobra Commander!" How much more proof do you need that I'm on your side?" Rocket screamed in frustration.

"I still don't believe you," said Scott.

"Hey Rocket, there you are!" Called out Hi-tech as he ran up to them, "been looking all over for you since you shot Cobra Commander."

He held up the case he was holding, "here is your Sigma suit – thought you might need it."

Rocket grabbed the case out his hands and turned to the kids, "see! Hi-tech here knows I am a good guy – now do you trust me?"

Zephyr still looked a bit suspicious, but the other two nodded.

"Good, now let me get you out of here!" She grabbed Matt with her free hand and pulled him along.

Scott and Zephyr followed behind.

***

"I'm not doing it!"

"Face it Starscream, we are here – you are painted – you _are_ doing it!" Hissed Thundercracker.

The Decepticons were hiding behind a conveniently placed hill, spying on the Autobots.

"But I don't want to!" Starscream sulked.

"Tough, life isn't far – do it!" Snarled Skywarp.

"Mind I remind you that I am your commanding officer and that you can't order me around!" Snapped Starscream.

"Screw this!" Muttered Skywarp and he warped Starscream out from behind the hill – and to right in front of the Autobots. Warping back quickly so they didn't spot him of course.

He joined the other Decepticons in laughing at Starscream's misfortune, even Soundwave gave a chuckle.

***

"How long are we supposed to sit on Barricade? My aft is getting numb," Hot Shot asked Optimus.

"Until Arcee gives us the go ahead to," Optimus replied.

It was getting a little boring and Optimus could see Ironhide just wishing he could blast Barricade and Frenzy to pit.

Optimus sighed, he wished something would happen.

It did.

In the form of a snarling Starscream.

Optimus noted that it looked like someone had dumped a can of luminous paint over Starscream's head.

The Autobots turned and stared at the newcomer, slightly amused by his sight.

"What are you doing here Starscream?" Asked Optimus.

Starscream responded by raising his hands and swaying them, while making a moaning noise.

"Is he all right? Should we call Ratchet back?" Elita asked, a bit worried, "I think he may be hurt."

Starscream then began to do a funny dance, it was all Optimus could do to not laugh.

"Oooohhh! I'm the ghost of Starscream, ooohhhh!" Wailed Starscream.

Hot Shot lost control and begun laughing his head off.

"Be afraid of the ghost of Starscream! I've come to haunt you! Oooohhhh!" Starscream continued to wail.

Optimus couldn't contain it anymore – he begun laughing too at the "ghost" of Starscream.

"They're laughing," remarked Soundwave.

"Good – it means they're distracted!" Replied Thundercrackr.

"Let's go rescue our comrades!" Skywarp said.

***

"Over here Matt," Rocket called out as she ran towards Arcee.

"What?" Asked Matt as he caught up.

Scott and Zephyr had already left for Zephyr's car.

"Get on!" Rocket ordered – pointing at Arcee.

"But I'm eleven – I can't ride that by myself!" Matt protested.

"Don't worry, she'll take care of you – you don't need to do anything but hold on," Rocket reassured him, while handing him her helmet.

"What do you mean by 'she'?" Matt asked.

"She means that I'm alive," replied Arcee.

Matt yelled and jumped back in shock.

"She won't bite, now get on and Arcee will take you to safety!" Rocket picked Matt up and placed him on Arcee.

"Take him to the others till I let you know it's safe to bring him back," she said to Arcee.

"All right," Arcee replied, "be safe!" And she sped out of the parking lot.

"Do you require any assistance?" Ratchet asked, making Rocket jump this time.

"Ratchet? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Helping out," he replied.

Rocket glanced down at her case containing her Sigma suit and then at Ratchet.

"Hey, can you see inside of yourself?" She asked him.

"Why?" Ratchet replied.

"Because I need to change my clothes, and I need to do it somewhere private," said Rocket.

"I suppose you could change inside me," Ratchet mused and opened his back doors.

"Don't peep," ordered Rocket as she climbed in.

"I'm a medic," admonished Ratchet, "I see bodies all the time."

"Yeah! Of giant robots," growled Rocket, "now shut your optics!"

***

"Oooohhhhh! I'm the ghost of Starscream – beware me! Ooooohhhhh!"

TBC...


	25. Pain

Stormshadow had seen his former student leave the room with the three brats in tow.

She had dared to attack Cobra Commander!

For that she had to pay.

Before he could follow Rocket to exact his revenge, Snake-eyes attacked him.

"I guess I'll have to deal with you first brother!" He snarled as he moved to counter-attack.

***

"Come on Mikaela - let's just go, okay?" Sam muttered as he dragged his girlfriend out to the parking lot.

"Not yet! I still have a score to settle with a blonde bimbo!" Mikaela snarled and tried to escape Sam's grip.

"Think about poor Bee, he wants to go home. This whole night has been a disaster," Sam said and glanced at a dejected looking holo-form walking next to him.

Bumblebee gave a nod in agreement. He'd rather face the entire Decepticon army than go through another experience like he had had that night again.

Mikaela gave a snort of annoyance and stormed off towards Bumblebee's true body.

***

Wheeljack was laughing his head off, he didn't even realise that there were Decepticons standing behind him until it was too late.

Truth be told, it was actually one Decepticon.

"Give me Frenzy or die Autobot!" Soundwave hissed in monotone at Wheeljack.

Wheeljack could feel Soundwave's weapon digging into his back and it did not feel pleasant.

'Ah, slag!' Wheeljack thought.

***

"Are you done yet?" Ratchet asked impatiently.

He didn't like being used as a changing room.

"Almost - just need to activate the Sigma link!" Rocket answered back.

She activated her body suit - hooking her up to the Sigma system, after it verified who she was first.

Rocket glanced down at her uniform - it was strange not seeing red and white but rather her old colours of black and lilac instead. Lilac - not pink as Tunnel Rat often joked about.

"Ready - you can let me out now," Rocket called out.

Ratchet's back doors swung open, allowing Rocket to exit him.

"Well, see you later then," said Rocket, before she turned and ran back into the hotel.

***

"Why didn't you tell me my daughter was a spy?" Screamed Lady Jaye at Scarlett, ignoring all the battle chaos around her.

"Can we discuss this later?" Scarlett asked desperately as she dodged a hail of laser fire.

"You tricked me into holding this reunion!" Lady Jaye wasn't about to let it go.

"Yes! I admit it! Now please concentrate on the battle!" Scarlett screamed back.

"Fine! But don't expect to get away with this when the battle is over!" Lady Jaye picked up a chair and threw it at the nearest Trooper, taking some of her frustration out on him.

***

"Soundwave? What are you doing here?" Wheeljack asked in surprise.

"Getting Frenzy - now hand him over!" Soundwave dug his weapon deeper into the metal of Wheeljack's back.

"You could ask me nicely," Wheeljack suggested.

"I think I'll stick with demanding," retorted Soundwave.

"You're outnumbered Soundwave," Wheeljack turned around to look at him.

"And yet your fellow Autobots are too busy laughing at Starscream to even notice that I am here," Soundwave replied.

"Hmm, that looks to be the case, but what about Barricade? Are you just going to leave him here after you get Frenzy?" Wheeljack asked, indicating to where Barricade was being sat on.

"Barricade is not my concern, Frenzy is - so hand him over now!" Soundwave glared at Wheeljack.

"Nnno, mmmust take Bbbarricade ttto!" Frenzy spoke up from Wheeljack's fist.

"Barricade will be taken care of Frenzy - just not by me," Soundwave addressed his small cassette.

"So there are more Decepticons lurking about?" Asked Wheeljack.

"Of course there are, you stupid Autobot!" Soundwave snapped back.

"Okay then," Wheeljack stepped back and drew air into his intakes, which was the equivalent to a human taking a deep breath, "Optimus!" He yelled, "Decepticons attacking!"

'Ah, slag!' Thought Soundwave.

***

"Kill them all! Let none escape!" Screamed Cobra Commander angrily, waving his arms about.

"What the bloody hell does he think we are trying to do?" Muttered Torch to Buzzer, "play ponies with them?"

"I heard that!" Cobra Commander screeched at him.

***

"Do you know what it feels like to stare down the barrel of a gun held by your own daughter!" Flint yelled at Duke.

"I'm sorry, but she had to do it," Duke replied as he punched Machete.

"You couldn't even tell me what was going down so I could be prepared!" Flint threw a Trooper at Duke intentionally.

Duke dodge the Trooper, "but your surprised looks were a key element to this trap working!"

"That may be the case, but a couple of stashed away weapons would be handy right about now!" Flint replied angrily, throwing another Trooper - this time at Stone.

***

"Optimus! Decepticons attacking!"

Optimus swung round in surprise (still giggling at Starscream), when he heard Wheeljack's yell.

Yo and behold - there was actually a Decepticon by Wheeljack - holding a weapon.

Optimus soon stopped laughing at that sight.

"Soundwave!" He snarled, and brought his gun online.

Starscream, seeing that the Autobots were no longer concentrating on him, decided to sneak off to die from his humiliation some where private.

But that was not to be.

Skywarp materialised next to him.

"Now's our chance Starscream! While they are preoccupied with Soundwave - let's charge those sitting on Barricade!" Skywarp hissed excitedly.

"I don't think that plan is going to work out so well," Starscream pointed out.

"Come on! You'll never know unless you try!" Thundercracker, who had crept up to them, whispered.

He and Skywarp each grabbed one of Starscream's arms and ran towards the group of Autobots sitting on Barricade, dragging Starscream along with them.

"Charge!" Skywarp yelled at the top of his voice.

***

The drive back home was a very quiet one.

Bumblebee was still in shock over the events that had taken place during the dance, Mikaela was busy sulking angrily and Sam was too scared to say something in case he pissed her off. And he didn't want Mikaela to get angry at him after tonight.

Bumblebee pulled up by Mikaela's house and let her out, she didn't even say good-bye to them as she stormed inside.

"Are you going to stay in the garage tonight?" Sam asked Bumblebee, as Bumblebee started driving him home.

"I don't think so, Optimus might wish for my help with the mission," Bumblebee replied.

"Aw, come on Bee - admit it! You are too scared of those girls to sleep at my place alone and you just want to be near Ironhide's cannons so he can blast the girls for you!" Sam teased him.

There was silence for a few minutes, before Bumblebee begun swerving wildly around the road.

"Okay! Okay!" Screamed Sam, "I won't mention those girls again!"

***

"Charge!"

Ironhide turned around from staring at Soundwave when he heard the battlecry. Only to get a face full of Skywarp.

Knocked off his perch on Barricade in surprise, he felt the others fall with thuds next to him.

"This has got to be the weirdest rescue I've ever seen!" Barricade muttered as he stood up.

"Stop complaining and just get out of here!" Snapped Starscream as he transformed and flew into the sky.

Thundercracker picked up Barricade and took off after Starscream, leaving Skywarp to carry Soundwave - who was at the moment "playing" tug-of-war with Wheeljack over Frenzy.

"He belongs to me let him go!"

"Not a chance you Decepticreep!"

"My cassette!"

"My prisoner!"

"Crazy scientist!"

"Toneless communications officer!"

"What sort of insult is that?"

"What?"

"Never mind - just hand over Frenzy!"

"Never!"

"Give me!"

"Ask nicely!"

"You'll hand him over if I do?"

"Not really!"

"You meanie!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Mine!"

"No Mine!"

"He's not yours!

"At the moment he is!"

"Let go!"

"Never!"

"Look - a flying pumpkin!"

"What? Where?"

"You were supposed to let go and look for it idiot!"

"I'm not that stupid!"

"Really, so why do all your inventions explode?"

"Leave them out of this!"

"Let go!"

"No - you let go!"

"You Autofreak!"

"Deceptimoron!"

"Pppoor Fffrenzy!"

"You shut up!"

"Don't tell him to shut up!"

"I will if I want too!"

"Just let him go for Primus sake!"

"Never!"

"I hate you!"

Skywarp stood next to Optimus Prime, both of them watching the argument with their mouths open.

Looking at each other, they both had an unspoken agreement that their comrades were embarrassing.

"While they are fighting like sparklings, can the two of us come to an agreement like adults?" Said Prime to the one mech he never thought he would ever say that too.

"Fine, whatever," Skywarp shrugged in boredom.

***

Stormshadow kicked Snake-eyes off him and watched the other ninja go flying across the room in satisfaction.

He turned to survey what was going on in the rest of the ball room and saw Rocket re-enter, dressed in her Sigma suit.

Stormshadow grinned mirthlessly as he made his way towards her.

Usefulness or not when it came to finding Power Stones, Rocket was going to die tonight.

***

"Wheeljack!" Optimus called out.

"What?" Yelled back Wheeljack, not taking his optics off Soundwave.

"Let Soundwave have Frenzy!" Optimus commanded.

"What!" This time Wheeljack turned his head to look at his leader in shock.

"But I'm winning!" He sulked.

"I don't care, I'm ordering you to do as I told you!" Prime's voice held a do-not-mess-with-me tone in it.

"Fine," Wheeljack let go of Frenzy and sent Soundwave flying backwards off balance.

"I win!" Yelled Soundwave triumphantly.

"Wow, I could've sworn his voice held emotion just then!" Hot Shot remarked to Ironhide.

"Whatever," Skywarp grumbled and grabbed him, flying off to follow the other Decepticons.

"What gives Optimus?" Demanded Ironhide, "you just let a couple of Decepticons go free!"

"Not quite, Skywarp has do something for me," Replied Prime, grinning evilly.

"Eh, what?" Asked Elita.

***

After depositing a still gloating Soundwave with the other Decepticons at the location Starscream suddenly decided was going to be their base, Skywarp flew off to find something.

" _I'll let Frenzy go if you do someting for me_ ," Primes voice rang through his head.

" _I heard that you are the resident prankster in the Decepticon army - I want you to…_ "

Skywarp shook his head - he couldn't believe that Prime, the Optimus Prime had asked him to pull a prank like that on his fellow Decepticons for his freedom.

But what really worried Skywarp at the moment was finding the specific materials that Prime had told him to use.

"What the slag is bovine waste product?" He muttered as he flew on.

***

Rocket rushed into the room, she really should have been more careful, kept a watchful eye out, taken in her surroundings. But all she wanted to do was to make sure that her parents were all right.

So when Stormshadow's katana plunged through her, she was taken totally by surprise. She looked up to the masked face of Stormshadow and then down to where the katana was buried in her chest.

She knew that it had gone all the way through, she could feel the pain of it.

Rocket slowly sunk to her knees, before Stormshadow laid a hand on her shoulder - to use as a leverage to pull out his katana.

She watched him pull the blade out of her, dripping with her blood.

All she felt was a warmth from her blood pouring out and staining her lilac dark purple.

After that came pain and coldness - then darkness…

TBC…


	26. Memories

The young girl stared up at the clouds floating above her. It was a perfect day in more ways than one. Exams had ended that day so she didn't have to worry about writing a subject on her fourteenth birthday - which was to be next week.

She was alone at home, her parents had gone off to visit her invalid grandmother. The girl had been left behind to write her final paper of the term.

Lying in her garden watching the clouds, the girl knew her parents would be bringing fast food home for dinner tonight as her mother would not be in the mood for cooking when they got back from visiting the nursing home. Probably double cheese burgers - her favorite.

***

"Nooooo!" Screamed Lady Jaye as she saw her daughter collapse.

Abandoning her fight with Baroness, she ran towards Rocket - ignoring all around her.

Hi-tech had already reached Rocket first, trying to staunch the blood loss with a table cloth.

"We need a medic here!" He yelled as Snake-eyes and his apprentices tackled Stormshadow.

Flint pulled Rocket out of Hi-tech's grasp and cradled her in his arms, "please don't die Kit!"

***

There was some one at the front gate, the girl sat up to look to see who it was.

Two police men, that wasn't good - maybe another burglary in the neighbourhood? Or did they come about something in connection to who parents?

The girl felt a tremor of fear go through her. Please let her parents be all right.

One of the police men saw her in the garden, "Miss Katherine Rochester?"

***

"Duke! Rocket's down!" Scarlett yelled to Duke.

"I know, tell the medics to get her out of here!" Duke commanded.

"That Autobot Ratchet is here, I saw him park next to Arcee before the mission started," informed Scarlett, "he looks like a ambulance - we'll take Rocket to him!"

"Good idea," Duke continued to fire at Cobra Commander.

***

"My parents are dead?" Katherine asked in disbelief.

The police men had taken her to the hospital, where she had found her grief-stricken grandmother.

"A truck went through a red robot, your parents didn't have much chance, I'm sorry," one of the police men had explained to her.

"Do you have any one to stay with?" The other asked.

It was obvious that she couldn't stay at the nursing home and at thirteen was too young to stay by herself.

"I'm her only family here," Katherine heard her grandmother tell the policemen, "maybe Kit can ask one of friends for a place to stay until I find her a more permanent place?"

***

"Ratchet!" Scarlett yelled as she ran in front of the medics carrying Rocket, "Ratchet!"

Ratchets headlights came on and his engine started up, "what is the problem?"

"Rocket's been stabbed, we need to get her a hospital now!" Scarlett explained hurriedly.

"What? Rocket?" Ratchet opened his back doors, "then don't waste time and get in!"

All the medics that had ever been a G.I Joe helped to place Rocket on one of Ratchet's stretchers and climbed in.

Ratchet began running a diagnostic on Rocket the minute she was inside of him, and what he saw - he didn't like.

Scarlett stood to the side and watched as Ratchet took off with his sirens blaring and lights flashing towards the nearest hospital.

After she had lost sight of him, did she run back to join the battle.

***

Katherine went to stay at her best friend's place for the moment being.

Her friend's mother had been understanding but it was obvious she wasn't willing to look after Katherine forever.

The funeral was drawing closer, and still Katherine had no idea what her grandmother was intending to do with her future well being.

Katherine knew that if her grandmother wasn't a pensioner who had to rely on nursing staff, that her grandmother would take her in.

But both of them knew that was impossible.

Katherine had no known relatives living except for her grandmother and she shuddered to think of what her options would be once she had to leave her friend's house.

***

"Hey, look! It's Arcee!" Hot Shot called out - while pointing towards the dirt road.

"Who is that riding her?" Wondered Optimus, "they are too small to be Rocket."

"We'll find out when she gets here," replied Ironhide.

The Autobots watched as Arcee drew closer to them and parked.

"Where's Barricade?" She enquired after she had transformed and looked around.

Her small passenger, still with his helmet on, looking around awe-struck.

"He got away - along with Frenzy!" Wheeljack said bitterly, while glaring at Optimus's back, "and I could've still had him!"

"Who is this young boy?" Optimus ask, kneeling down to look at Matt.

"This is Rocket's younger brother, Matt, she asked me to bring him to keep him safe from the battle," Arcee answered.

"Pleased to meet you Matt, I am Optimus Prime - leader of the Autobots," Optimus introduced himself.

"Cool!" Breathed Matt, wide-eyed.

***

Katherine climbed out from the bush she had been hiding in. It was that social worker again. Katherine knew that she meant well, but the sight of her made Katherine flee in the opposite direction.

Talks of foster homes and children's homes filled Katherine with ice and she felt like throwing up every time the subject was discussed. There were no other options and her grandmother wasn't having much luck going through the family tree in the hope of spotting a long-lost relative.

If the social worker didn't catch her now, she would be at school tomorrow.

Her last term at school too, it seemed, as her parents paid by term instead of by year.

' _Had paid_ ,' she reminded herself bitterly.

***

"Arcee, this is Ratchet," he skimmed through traffic effortlessly as he contacted his team mate.

"What's up Ratchet? Getting bored waiting out in the parking lot?" Arcee replied.

"Arcee, I've got some bad news concerning Rocket," Ratchet cut to the chase.

"What kind of news?" Came Arcee's worried reply.

***

In two days was her parent's funeral, and it seemed everything was just going from bad to worse.

Her grandmother had got sick overnight and had to be hospitalised.

The doctors said it had been a mild stroke, but nothing to worry about. She still had motor skills and could speak, albeit a bit slurry.

Katherine still had no where to stay.

***

"Fall back! Fall back!" Screamed Cobra Commander.

Seeing one of their own fall made the G.I Joes fight with more strength, and it was showing as the Cobra's were forced into a corner.

"You may have won this battle Duke!" Snarled Cobra Commander shaking one fist menacing, "but Cobra will be back!"

"Like we haven't heard that one before," Tunnel Rat remarked dryly to Heavy Duty.

Flint ignored the escaping Cobras, he was too busy comforting Lady Jaye to be bothered by anything else.

***

Katherine could feel everyone staring at her. It was the wake after the funeral that morning. Everyone giving sympathetic stares while whispering about the uncertainty of her future. It got on Katherine's nerves, she had enough on her shoulders without everyone adding their worry to her.

Not being able to take it anymore, Katherine left the wake and ran to her old house. It was nearby, her grandmother had opted against selling it. It was there for her in her time of need, when she needed to be alone to think.

***

"She has a punctured lung amongst other internal damages according to my scans," Ratchet informed Arcee.

"Will she make it?" Arcee asked worriedly.

"I am not familiar with organic injuries, so I can not for certain say," replied Ratchet.

"What should I do?" Arcee wanted to know.

"I think you should inform her brother, to prepare him for the worse," Ratchet advised her.

"Should I bring him back to be with his parental units?"

"That would be inadvisable, they could still be in a middle of a battle."

"I understand, it's just that I feel so unable to help right now. Why are humans so fragile?"

"I ask myself that question everyday."

***

"Where did you take Kit?" Lady Jaye sobbed at Scarlett.

"Ratchet is taking her to hospital," Scarlett told her calmly.

"Who the hell is Ratchet?" Yelled Flint.

"More like what rather than who," muttered Tunnel Rat quietly.

"Ratchet is an Autobot from the planet Cybertron," Duke answered.

"Did you hit your head? Now is not the time to be making up stories about aliens!" Flint glared at Duke angrily.

"I understand that you are pretty upset at the moment Flint," Duke tried to placate, "but we are not lying about aliens. We'll introduce you to them later."

"Where's Matt?" Lady Jaye suddenly screamed, "oh God, don't tell me I've lost both my babies!" She broke down into hysterics.

"I saw Rocket take him to Arcee," Stone said quietly, "so Arcee has probably taken him to safety to where the other Autobots are."

"Again with the bloody aliens, show me one right now and I'll believe you!" Snarled Flint.

"Then, perhaps I can be of assistance?"

Every one swung around to face the new voice. They were standing outside than rather in the destroyed ballroom. They saw no one standing where the voice had spoken.

"Who's there?" Called out Duke.

"Oh sorry, forgot I was still invisible," a figure suddenly appeared before their eyes - a tall robotic figure.

"Mirage is my name, I thought I had located a fellow Autobot's signature here - but I must have missed them," Mirage explained to the humans before him.

"They exist!" Said a shocked Flint.

Lady Jaye was still to hysterical to care about giant robots.

***

Katherine was sitting in the same spot she was before on that day her parents had died and the police had come.

Hugging her knees, she was allowing herself to cry in privacy. She wasn't too happy when she heard some one walk up to her.

"There you are! Been looking for you all over," said the new person, a woman and someone Katherine hadn't met before.

The woman sat down next to her, she had a bit of an accent - not South African for sure.

"I've been travelling since yesterday and only arrived here about an hour ago which is why I missed the funeral."

She paused, as if waiting for Katherine to say something, which she didn't.

"I was surprised to get your grandmother's phone call yesterday, made my husband book a flight here straight away. We had to pull a few strings and call in a few favors to get here for the funeral."

"But yet you still missed it," Katherine said quietly, her voice slightly muffled by her knees.

"I know and I apologise, your mother was my favorite cousin growing up," the woman replied softly.

What she said made Katherine rise her head and look at the women, she looked a bit like Katherine's mother - same colour hair.

"You are my mother's cousin?" Katherine asked slightly shocked.

"Second cousin really, but we felt like sisters until her parents decided to emigrate to South Africa. Then we kind of lost touch with each other," the woman sounded sad as she spoke.

"Of course we would try to write to each other, but as our lives and careers took hold - we gradually forgot. That is why I was surprised by your grandmothers phone call."

"Why did my grandmother call you?" Katherine asked.

"Well, I am the only relative able to look after you aren't I?" She sounded surprise that Katherine needed to ask.

"Does that mean you are adopting me?" Katherine asked slowly - not wanting to build up excitement for nothing.

"Of course silly!" The woman chuckled, "how could I refuse to care for the child of my 'sister'? You have to come to America though, are you okay with that?"

"If it means I have a family - I would move anywhere!" Katherine now left the excitement build up.

"That's good, Katherine, my husband and I are looking forward to having you," the woman smiled.

"Call me Kit please, everyone else does," Katherine asked.

"So Kit Rochester - ready to come and live with me in America?" She asked.

"More than ready, just one question - what is your name?" Katherine asked, having realised she had no clue who this woman was.

The woman smiled, "my name is Alison Hart-Burnett, but you can call me Lady Jaye or mom if you want too."

"Lady Jaye?" Katherine wondered, puzzled, "hey - haven't I seen you in a movie before?"

TBC…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh... we call traffic lights "robots" in South Africa...


	27. A Tale of Two Rumbles

"Hey, anyone know where Skywarp went?" Asked Thundercracker curiously.

"Oh, he's gone?" Said Starscream uninterested.

Soundwave was too busy hugging Frenzy to notice the question, and Barricade was busy thinking of the best way to let the other Decepticons know about the fact that he and Frenzy had joined a _human_ organisation.

"I'm going to look for him," Thundercracker said to no one in particular and flew off.

It was lucky that he did so, as five minutes later a truck load of cow dung got dumped on the other Decepticons.

Skywarp cackled in the air watching the frantic Decepticons run around below him. Even if he had been ordered to do it by Prime - it was still freaking hilarious prank to do!

***

"So you are saying that Autobot Ratchet and Arcee were here, do you know where they have gone?" Mirage said to Duke.

"Arcee has gone to Optimus and the others, while Ratchet has taken one of my people to hospital," Duke replied.

"Which of the two is closer?" Mirage enquired, while he wanted to meet up with Prime, he didn't want to get lost on this new planet.

"That would be Ratchet," said Scarlett.

"Could I ask one of you to please drive with me to this hospital so I don't get lost?" Hopefully asked Mirage.

"Take Flint and Lady Jaye, I'll come along as well," Scarlett told him.

Mirage nodded his head and transformed into his alternative mode.

A teary Flint and Lady Jaye got into him, followed by Scarlett.

"I'll have Long Range pick you up later in the V.A.M.P" Duke said to Scarlett, before Mirage drove out of the parking lot towards the hospital.

***

"If those deserters Barricade and Arcee comes back to base - let Overkill lose on them!" Snarled Cobra Commander angrily.

"Sir?" Wondered Destro.

"If we had their back-up this mission tonight would have been in our favour!" Cobra Commander hissed.

"Don't you think that maybe those Autobots had something to do with them not fighting?" Asked Baroness.

"Barricade maybe, but not Arcee - she left without doing anything!" Replied Cobra Commander.

"She was awfully close to that traitor Rocket," put in Zartan.

"Who is now dead," added Stormshadow.

"Coming to that," Cobra Commander paused in his tirade about the Transformers and glared at Stormshadow, "how dare you kill her? Didn't I order no one to kill her?" He screeched.

"She fired upon you, my commander, I was just suitably punishing her," Stormshadow replied.

"And getting your vengeance at the same time! Seriously Stormshadow - you have a thing about betrayal! Didn't you run over your last girlfriend after she cheated on you?" Cobra Commander continued glaring at him.

"She had it coming," muttered Stormshadow quietly.

"Who?" Asked Baroness curiously, "the girlfriend or Rocket?"

"Is that how Zarena ended up in hospital after that hit-and-run last month?" Burst out Zartan angrily, "that was my sister you moron!"

Cobra Commander sighed sadly, 'maybe I should find some saner henchmen if I want to win one day?'

***

"My first order as the new leader of the Decepticon Army is… kill Skywarp!" Screamed Starscream.

The other Decepticons roared in approval and begun chasing after the unfortunate seeker.

"It's not my fault I tell you!" Skywarp desperately yelled over his shoulder at the pursuing Decepticons, "I was forced by Prime!"

"I don't see Prime here, I only see you!" Yelled back Barricade - fast catching up.

"Somebody help me!" Skywarp cried out as he felt a clawed hand on his shoulder.

"I wwwant Rrrumble!" Frenzy suddenly cried out, halting Skywarp's demise.

"But I'm right here next to you," Rumble said - poking Frenzy in the side.

"Nnnot you - Mmmy other Rrrumble!" Frenzy blurted out before dissolving in tears.

"How can he cry?" Thundercracker whispered to Starscream, "he's a robot!"

Soundwave looked quizzical at Barricade.

"He means his teddy bear," Barricade replied, as Starscream burst out laughing.

Being the only other Decepticon apart from Barricade and Frenzy who had been on Earth before, Starscream knew exactly what a teddy bear was and couldn't wait to see the real Rumble's face when he learnt he had been turned into a cuddly toy.

"What's a teddy bear?" Rumble asked slowly, not sure why Starscream was on his hands and knees pounding the ground with one fist while laughing hysterically.

"Wait and see," replied Barricade, not wanting to be the one to tell Rumble.

"Where is this teddy bear then?" Asked Soundwave, not wanting anything to upset his little precious Frenzy.

"Back at Cobra headquarters," Barriacade answered without thinking.

"Cobra? What is Cobra?" Hissed Starscream, still a bit giggly.

"Uh… a terrorist organisation," Barricade muttered quietly.

"A Decepticon terrorist organisation?" Quizzed Starscream.

"Not quite," Barricade whispered.

"So what type of terrorists were you running around with while on Earth then?" Starscream demanded.

"Er, human terrorists," Barricade said it so softly you could barely hear what he had said - barely.

"Humans?" Screeched Starscream, "you've been running around with humans?"

"I was wondering about that new paintwork of his," Thundercraker added - pointing to a bit of visible red paint that would make up the Cobra sign when transformed.

"Can we worry about the human terrorists later," interrupted Soundwave, "Frenzy wants Rumble," he indicated the sobbing cassette on his palm.

"But I keep telling you guys - I"M RIGHT HERE!" Yelled Rumble.

"Not you - the teddy bear," Soundwave said to him, resulting in Starscream laughing hysterically again.

***

Ratchet waited nervously out in the hospital parking lot. For obvious reasons he couldn't enter the hospital himself.

So for the first time, he had to wait anxiously instead of working on a patient.

"Ratchet!" Mirage drove up and parked next to him, letting his passengers out.

"Mirage?" Ratchet couldn't believe his eyes, "what are you doing here?"

"What sort of greeting is that? I answered Prime's call of course," Mirage rocked on his wheels.

"Well, it is a bit of a surprise, we weren't expecting you," said Ratchet.

"So where are the others? And why are we here instead of with them?" Mirage asked.

"The others are on a mission, and I'm here to find out if a human I know is going to recover from her injuries," replied Ratchet.

"Is that this Rocket I heard about?" Mirage asked, remembering the conversation he heard before he revealed himself to the humans.

"Yes, I'm monitoring her life readings out here, they seem to be stable at the moment. I hope they have given her a suitable human mechanic, um, I meant doctor," Ratchet sounded slightly worried.

"Do you want me to wait here with you for company? Or do you want me to go off and find Prime?" Mirage asked.

"Wait here, Prime is on his way here anyway. The brother of the human has insisted on coming here to be near his sister," Ratchet replied.

***

"Do you know if my sister is going to be all right?" Matt asked for the hundredth time of Optimus.

"I do not know know for sure, you just have to hope for your sister's recovery," Optimus tried to comfort the human travelling inside of him.

"I called her a traitor," Matt said sadly.

"You didn't know the whole truth at the time," comforted Prime.

"She made sure I was safe, but she couldn't keep herself safe," Matt sounded close to tears.

"A soldier knows that what they do is not safe," Prime felt sad - as if he was about to lose one of his own soldiers.

"She'll be all right, nothing can keep her down!" Matt said optimistically, before bursting into tears.

***

22 sighed, his arm was aching from a laser shot and he was expected to be on guard duty tonight.

He looked out at the expanse of the rocky desert surrounding the base and saw something odd.

He rubbed his eyes, thinking that he was tired and looked again.

Nope, still there - the odd sight.

One cackling in laughter jet flying ahead of two large robots, each of whom was carrying another large robot.

If 22 squinted, he could make out Barricade as one of the being carried robots.

Now how was he supposed to report this sight to the section chief?

***

Optimus pulled up outside the hospital, there wasn't a large enough space for him to park in the parking lot.

"Ratchet has informed me that your parents are here already," Optimus said to the young boy.

Matt muttered his thanks and ran into the hospital.

The other Autobots pulled into empty spaces around the hospital.

Arcee made use of her small size to squeeze next to Ratchet, "what is the diagnosis?"

"She seems to be getting better, but it was touch and go just now. Luckily - apart from the lung - no major organs were hit," Ratchet replied.

"Hey Arcee," greeted Mirage.

"Hey Mirage," Arcee greeted back, before realisation hit her, "Mirage? What the pit are you doing here?"

"That was an even worse greeting than Ratchets!" Mirage said in a huff.

"Mirage? Welcome to Earth, sorry we weren't there to greet you when you landed," Optimus called over the comm-link.

"Thanks for the proper greeting Prime, I was starting to think no one wanted me on this planet," replied Mirage.

"Things have been tense lately," said Prime.

Just then, Scarlett came out of the hospital. Arcee revved to show her where to come.

"Rocket has left the operating theatre, it seems the doctors are satisfied that she'll make a full recovery. Just no work till she is properly better," Scarlett informed them.

"Oh thank Primus," Arcee breathed in relief.

"Now we just have to worry about the new Decepticons on the planet," said Elita.

TBC…


	28. How to Torture Starscream

"You'll bow down to me you pitiful humans!" Starscream screeched at the cowering Troopers gathered in the hanger.

"No, you'll bow down to me or I'll turn you into scrap metal!" Cobra Commander yelled back, striding into the hanger.

"Who the frag are you?" Starscream questioned angrily.

"I am Cobra Commander, how dare you order my minions to bow down to you?" Cobra Commander answered back just as angrily.

"Well, I'm bigger than they are - so therefore they shall bow down to me or get squished!" Starscream raised one foot menacing, leaving it hanging above a group of Troopers.

"You squish my minions and I'll sec Overkill on you!" Threatened Cobra Commander.

"Oooh I'm so scared," Starscream said sarcastically, not noticing Barricade inch away from him.

"Then you leave me no choice!" Cobra Commander turned to Destro, who was standing next to him, and grinned evilly, "go tell Overkill Christmas has come early!"

***

"So, this is our base Mirage. What do you think?" Prowl asked as he led Mirage on a tour through the headquarters.

"Actually, I'm wondering about something," said Mirage.

"Yes, and what is that?" Prowl turned to look at him.

"Um, why exactly is there a Bumblebee shaped hole in your office wall?" Mirage looked more than a little puzzled.

"That is a long story, which no one wants to talk about - least of all Bumblebee," Prowl answered quickly and walked off before Mirage could ask any more questions.

***

"Oh Primus! No!" A screech full of fear ripped through the Cobra base.

"So, what do you think Overkill has done to Starscream now?" Barricade calmly asked Frenzy. The other Decepticons were huddled by the wall in fear, covering their audio sensors.

Frenzy shrugged, he didn't care, "wwwant Rumble!"

"What was that, did you call me?" Rumble uncovered his audio sensors briefly when he heard his name.

"Not you," Barricade answered wearily, the Rumble as a teddy bear joke was starting to get annoying to him.

When Overkill had been set loose on Starscream, Barricade had led the rest of the Decepticons to another part of the base so they wouldn't be haunted by the images for the rest of their lives.

Firefly popped his head into the room, "man, you guys should come see him sobbing like a baby!"

"He does realise that he can just throw Overkill through the roof?" Barricade asked him.

"I don't think he can do anything at the moment!" Chuckled Firefly, before he removed his head from the room.

"Who would have thought giant robots could be so ticklish?" Zartan asked in amazement.

In the hanger, Overkill had Starscream begging for mercy as he tickled the giant Transformer with a ostrich feather.

"I came across the phenomena while building my Overlord series," Overkill answered back calmly, "if Sigma 6 ever found out the Overlords weakness - we would have a very big problem!"

"Why the hell did you design ticklish robots you idiot?" Screamed Cobra Commander.

"It was a design flaw, couldn't do anything about it," replied Overkill, taking a quick break from torturing Starscream.

"Okay, okay!" Gasped Starscream, taking his chance, "I won't order your minions around anymore - nor try to squish them again! Just call this freak off!"

"I didn't hear the magic word," taunted Cobra Commander evilly.

***

Rocket opened her eyes, then immediately shut them again to block out the bright light.

"She's awake!" A voice screamed into her left ear.

More voices started up, Rocket decided to try opening her eyes again.

This time the world was a bit blurry, but steadily coming into focus.

"Urgh, mom? Dad?" Rocket asked weakly.

"Yes, we're here, so is Matt," Lady Jaye's voice spoke up. It sounded rather scratchy from too much crying.

"How are you feeling Kit?" Flint asked her gently.

"Like someone just stabbed me," Rocket replied.

"At least you are alive my weak organic partner!" Broke in a new voice.

"Glad to be alive too, Arcee," Rocket smiled faintly at the hologram next to her bed.

"Doctor says you're to be off duty for at least a month," said Lady Jaye.

"Which means you're coming home with us till you are better," added Flint.

"Does that mean I have to move my stuff out of her old room?" Put in Matt.

***

Bumblebee drove up to the base very cautiously, ever since that "incident" - he wasn't taking chances.

"Come on Bee! Hurry up I want to meet these new arrivals!" Sam protested inside of him.

"Better be safe than sorry," Bumblebee replied, as Sam and Mikaela groaned in impatience.

What seemed like ages to the two humans finally ended and Bumblebee drove inside the base.

Sam and Mikaela quickly hopped out of him, allowing Bumblebee to transform.

"So where will they be?" Asked Mikaela excitedly.

The two of them hadn't met any new Transformers since Prowl, Landmine, Hot Shot and Arcee had arrived.

"I think we'll find Wheeljack in his bombproof lab, Elita and Chromia will be in the recess room and I don't know where Mirage will be," answered Bumblebee.

"Let's start with the recess room," Sam decided.

"Hey there parasites!" Hot Shot called out jokingly as they walked into the recess room.

Causing the humans to hide behind Bumblebee, he glared at Hot Shot.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I know you aren't really parasites," Hot Shot held up his hands in a placating manner.

"More humans!" Shouted a mech excitedly, one they hadn't seen before.

"This is Wheeljack," Bumblebee told them as he picked them up for a better view.

"His head is flashing!" Mikaela hissed in an undertone to Sam.

Obviously Wheeljack heard, "aren't heads suppose to flash?"

"Just ignore them," Ironhide grumbled as he walked into the room, with another Autobot the humans hadn't seen before.

"This is Chromia," introduced Bumblebee.

"Nice to meet you," Chromia said, "Elita is coming now with Prime."

"Where is Mirage?" Bumblebee asked looking around the room for said mech.

"He was here a minute ago," answered Hot Shot, looking around the room.

"He is just playing his disappearing tricks again," Ironhide remarked, as he picked up an empty energon cube and threw it at a wall.

The cube connected with something invisible before it reached the wall and a loud "ouch" was heard.

An Autobot faded into view with an indignant look on his face, "how did you know I was there?" He demanded angrily of Ironhide.

"You were giggling like a sparkling that only a deaf Decepticon wouldn't have heard," Ironhide replied gruffly.

Bumblebee noticed the two humans in his hand were staring at Mirage with their mouths hanging open.

"That's Mirage," Bumblebee explained, "he can cloak himself and therefore turn invisible."

"That is so freaking awesome!" Sam cried out.

"Why thank you," Mirage looked happy.

Optimus walked into the room now, followed by another unknown femme.

"Aw, you must be Bumblebee's pets!" Elita smiled, "I must say you look nicer than Arcee's pet!" She grinned at the two shocked humans.

"Elita!" Hissed Prime angrily.

"Oh hush Optimus, I know they aren't pets - I was pulling their leg as the humans would say," Elita smiled sweetly at Prime.

"I fail to see how calling them pets resulted in the action of pulling their legs?" Prowl asked.

"Never mind, you wouldn't get it," Chromia said to him.

"So, what do you transform into?" Mikaela asked.

In reply, Mirage transformed into a sleek Lola T-70.

"Show off," Hot Shot grumbled.

"That is one cool looking car," said Sam, with Mikaela nodding in agreement.

"What about me?" Pouted Bumblebee, feeling a small spike of jealously.

"Don't worry Bee - you are still the coolest," Sam comforted.

"After Mirage's performance, I don't feel like transforming into my less-than-cool alternative mode," Chromia joked.

"Aw, come on," begged Mikaela.

"Okay," Chromia said before she transformed into a landrover, "not quite as hardy as Ironhide, but at least I won't get stuck in a ditch."

"Your turn," Sam said to Elita.

"I suppose I have to," she transformed into a Porsche Spyder.

"Also a cool looking car," remarked Sam.

"I don't want to transform," Wheeljack sulked, "I scanned the first thing I saw and I haven't had a chance to change it yet."

"We've all seen it, so why can't the humans?" Optimus asked.

"Well, you don't know about Earth vehicles like they do, what if I choose a really stupid and uncool mode?" Replied Wheeljack.

"If you show us, we promise we won't laugh," said Mikaela.

"Fine," Wheeljack transformed.

Sam stared, he couldn't trust himself to speak.

Mikaela was biting her hand in a effort not to laugh.

"Go on tell me - what's the verdict?" Wheeljack asked sullenly, noticing their reactions.

Sam turned to Mikaela and with a hint of laughter in his voice, said, "at least we know now why the news keeps reporting about a phantom Hello Kitty float driving around!"

And the two of them dissolved into laughter.

***

"If you join us, I'll give you one half of the Earth," Cobra Commander said.

Starscream looked at him sulkily, "why should we join with you anyway?"

"Because together we can both defeat our enemies, who have joined together to become a common enemy to both of us," explained Cobra Commander.

"Fine, but don't expect us to wear your badge," Starscream agreed.

"But you have too! It's part of joining Cobra - even Barricade has one!" Protested Cobra Commander.

"All right, but we get the hanger!" Bargained Starscream.

"Fine, fine," muttered Cobra Commander, dismissing the Decepticon.

Starscream scowled at him, but then noticed Overkill standing in the shadows waving a feather and he left the throne room.

***

"Where is this teddy bear?" Soundwave demanded, as Frenzy's sobs got louder.

"I left it in my corner in the hanger," replied Barricade, and started towards the hanger.

The other Decepticons followed him and along the way they came across a morose looking Starscream.

"What did they do to you?" Asked Thundercracker in a hushed voice, "we could hear you from across the base!"

Starscream glared at him for a minute before replying, "I don't want to talk about it."

"I take it you have signed us into the human organisation?" Barricade enquired.

"It's mutually beneficial, and when we have achieved destruction of the Autobots, we shall squish Cobra! I will take a deep pleasure in awaiting that day!" Starscream screeched.

"Anyway, here we are at the hanger," announced Skywarp.

"Where is your corner?" Asked Soundwave.

"That one," Pointed out Barricade, and he watched as Rumble run towards it.

The little Decepticon stopped dead, then walked slowly towards the only object in the corner. He picked it up slowly by its ear, as if expecting it to bite him and examined it carefully before turning around and screaming angrily, "what the frag is this thing?"

"That," chuckled Barricade, as Starscream howled in laughter, "is a teddy bear!"

"Mmmy Rrrumble!" Cried out Frenzy happily.

The other Decepticons stared in shock at the fluffy toy, Frenzy must have a screw loose.

***

Energy can not be destroyed, it is always converted into another form. And deep below the sea… energy was being converted.

TBC...


	29. Dedicated Decepticons in Darkness

The Decepticons were huddled round in a circle on the hanger floor, informing each other of what ever news that they might have. But mostly, it was a Barricade and Frenzy interrogation.

"So, tell me Barricade, how did the Autobots capture you and Frenzy?" Asked Skywarp.

Several optics zoomed in on Barricade, Soundwave's narrowing in a glare.

"Iiit was Bbbaricades fffault!" Muttered Frenzy, "he fffell for fffraging Autobot's tttrap!" Frenzy gave Rumble (the teddy bear) a hug.

"Frenzy! No swearing!" Soundwave admonished, but intensified the glare he was giving Barricade.

"Don't look at me like that," Barricade put in, "I went to get Frenzy checked out by their medic, he wasn't looking well to me."

"You went so Frenzy would get help?" Soundwave asked.

"I thought he had a wire loose in his head," replied Barricade.

Soundwave's glare softened slightly, if Barricade fell for a trap so that his Cassette could be taken care of, well then Barricade did nothing wrong in his optics.

"Enough of this with the Autobot trap," broke in Rumble, "what I want to know is - why does Frenzy have a… a… _teddy bear_ named after me?"

"That's an interesting question," Starscream said, "do tell us why?"

"It was one of the human's ideas," answered Barricade, "Frenzy kept recharging in her bed."

This answer had several reactions, most were of disgust and shock.

"Did he recharge willingly?" A shocked Thundercracker asked.

Barricade nodded.

Soundwave felt numb, he always knew there would come a time when his Cassettes would have to grow up, but to… with a human? How could this have happened? There was only one mech responsible, one mech he had entrusted Frenzy with - that mech had to pay!

Barricade glanced at Soundwave as he heard the latter's weapon charged up, he was in time to see it thrust into his face.

"I trusted you with Frenzy's well-being!" Soundwave yelled, "and you let him recharge with a _human_!"

The other Decepticons scattered out of the way.

"What are you talking about?" Barricade yelled back, before he realised what the other one was implying, "oh Primus no! It's not what you are thinking of!"

"Then what was it really?" Soundwave demanded.

"Frenzy was _homesick_! He just recharged in her bed because she would read him bedtime stories like you used to, and he would then fall into recharge while listening!" Barricade explained urgently.

Soundwave stared at him, and slowly retracted his weapon.

The silence was broken by Starscream, "you read bedtime stories?"

Thundercracker and Skywarp burst into laughter while Starscream smirked.

"So he named the teddy bear after me because he missed me?" Asked Rumble.

"Yes, the human and I chose it for him, I picked it because it was blue like you," said Barricade.

Soundwave felt like an idiot, Barricade had actually been looking after Frenzy for him like he promised he would, and all that he, Soundwave, was doing was jumping to conclusions and accusing Barricade of wrong-doing.

Soundwave stared at the floor in shame.

The Decepticons huddled round in a circle again, after the seekers had finished laughing.

"So, does anyone know what happened to Scorpinok?" Asked Thundercracker, "I mean everyone else that was on Earth is dead or is here."

Starscream looked at Barricade, "should I tell them or do you want too?"

"You go ahead, I'm tired of giving explanations," replied Barricade.

"Okay, well, Blackout had sent Scorpinok after a bunch of fleshbags and then had gone on to meet us here for the final battle," Starscream paused and looked around to see if the others were listening.

"Don't tell me some pathetic humans got rid of Scorpinok," said Skywarp.

"No, but they did shoot off the tip of his tail," answered Barricade.

"Anyway," Starscream gave a glare to Barricade for replying while he was telling the story, "Scorpinok never did have a good sense of direction, he just had a vague idea of where Blackout was located and after loosing his tail tip, went to find Blackout."

Barricade begun to giggle as he knew what was going to happen next to the symbiotic Decepticon.

Shooting another glare at Barricade for interrupting, Starscream continued the story, "to try and get his bearings, Scopinok would often surface to see how much further away his link to Blackout was. One day he surfaced from the seabed."

"But he can't drown," said Thundercracker, "and I don't think he'll have rusted to death so quickly."

"True," agreed Starscream, "but it was where he surfaced that was his downfall."

"Why?" Asked Skywarp curiously.

"Humans at war, often plant minefields on land to impend their enemy," Starscream explained, "they also have a version for the sea to sink enemy ships. After they have finished with their war, the humans forget to remove their mines, Scopinok found himself in the middle of an ocean minefield."

"How do you know this?" Rumble asked.

"Because we could hear his last broadcast to us," said Starscream.

"In amongst the swearing and loud explosions," chuckled Barricade, "it could only have been Scorpinok to go out in such an undignified way!"

"So, it's just us now," Soundwave said, "how many Autobots are there on Earth Barricade?"

"Barricade looked thoughtful and counted the number of Autobots he had seen so far, "twelve."

There were actually thirteen, but he didn't know that Mirage had landed on Earth.

"Well, that just sucks," Skywarp sulked, "twelve of them against five of us and a bunch of Cassettes!"

"There is nothing wrong with my Cassettes!" Snarled Soundwave.

"Just saying," Skywarp shrugged placating manner.

"Twelve divided by five just means that there are two Autobot victims each," Starscream stated, "and the remaining point four of the equation can be given to the Cassettes to deal with."

"I'm hungry," said Skywarp," where do you get energon around here Barricade?"

"I steal electricity from their power sockets and convert it into energon," Barricade explained and pointed to a power socket that would normally be used for a power tool to fix up a vehicle.

"Excellent," Starscream rubbed his hands together, "dinner is on Cobra's bill!"

***

Most of the Cobra operatives were in the throne room, staring up at Cobra Commander's big screen television and munching popcorn.

There was a horror movie marathon on and they weren't going to miss it.

Baroness gave a small squeal and clutched Destro's hand as the killer crept towards an unsuspecting victim.

"Scared?" Smirked Destro, "just imagine the victims are Sigmas, it makes the movie much more enjoyable."

"Shush!" Hissed Stormshadow, not taking his eyes off the screen.

Firefly grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it into his mouth. Zartan was biting his fingernails and was hoping that no one saw him doing so, or otherwise the Dreadnoks would never let him live it down. Cobra Commander was glad he wore a mask so that his subordinates couldn't see his teeth chattering in fear.

The music's tempo started getting faster and faster as the killer got closer to the victim, just as he raised the knife… the throne room plunged into darkness.

"Aaaaarrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhh!"

***

The scream reached the hanger, causing the Decepticons to pause whatever they were doing.

"What was that sound?" Asked Skywarp.

"Sounded like all those pitiful Cobra's screaming at the same time in fear," replied Starscream, a bit gleefully.

"I think we overdid it with taking the electricity," put in Barricade, using his headlights to light up the hanger.

"Oh really? What ever gave you that idea?" Thundercracker asked sarcastically.

"The fact that we have no power," said Soundwave, not getting that Thundercracker was being sarcastic.

"Well, what do we do now?" Asked Rumble.

"Wwwe cccan play ssshadow-puppets," suggested Frenzy.

"What the pit are shadow-puppets?" Starscream growled, he hadn't had a chance to get any energon so he was a bit miffed.

"Rrrocket told me aaabout them," said Frenzy, "yyyou mmmake shapes wwwith your hand's ssshadows aaagainst the wwwall."

"Why would we want to do that?" Asked Starscream.

"Sounds like fun," said Skywarp, the other Decepticons agreeing with him.

"Pity Megatron is dead," Starscream said suddenly, causing the other Decepticons to look at him in shock.

"You're sorry Megatron is dead?" Whispered Thundercracker, not quite believing his audio receivers.

"Yes, cause now I'll never get to see his face when he is told to play shadow puppets," Starscream said mournfully.

***

"Is that you Firefly?" Asked Destro as he bumped into someone.

"No, you idiot, it's me Zartan!" Snapped Zartan, Destro had trodden rather heavily on his foot.

"You don't need to snap! I can't see anything in this darkness," Destro snarled back, "and it's not like you aren't used to not being seen!"

"No need to get nasty about my invisibility shield," retorted Zartan.

"Where are those Troopers with those candles I ordered!" Shrieked Cobra Commander.

"I vink they may haf gotten lost on their vay to the storeroom in the dark," replied Baroness, she was feeling a bit smug as the only one who hadn't screamed when the power went off.

"Firefly, go search for them!" Ordered Cobra Commander.

"Why me?" Asked Firefly.

"Because your name is FIREfly!" Yelled Cobra Commander angrily.

"Oh right," Firefly replied, and drew and activated one of his weapons, lighting up the room with its green flare.

"Be back later," called out Firefly, as he - and the light, disappeared down a corridor.

****

The energy converted from the Allspark was steadily fixing up the broken body that it was trapped in, the water drifted a little of the converted energy over to other broken bodies lying near by.

Slowly, the bodies were being converted by the new power, and the one with the most concentration of raw new energy, was getting the most attention.

One optic opened and stared up at a faraway sky. It glowed an evil red.

'Soon,' the body thought, 'soon I'll have my revenge….'

TBC…


	30. One Month Later

The Sea Titan had docked to pick up supplies, that was the only bad thing about having a ship as your base.

Hi-tech was walking towards the mess room, while debating whether or not to go ashore while he had the chance to.

So caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice someone sneaking up on him until they pounced.

"Oh my word! I'm so happy to see you!" His assailant shrieked.

"Rocket?" Hi-tech stared in shock at her, "when did you get here? Weren't you with your parents?"

Rocket released him from her bear hug, "I just got here, the medics let me come back on duty - just no missions yet."

"That's great! Are you sad now you have to leave your parents?" Asked Hi-tech.

"Are you kidding me?" Rocket yelled, making Hi-tech jump back in fright, "I couldn't wait to get away from them!"

"Why? What was so bad with spending a little R 'n R at home?" Hi-tech looked at her puzzled.

"Don't get me wrong," Rocket answered, "it was nice to be back at home, but sometimes too much molly-coddling from your parents can get on your nerves."

"Well, they did almost lose you, its only natural that they would treat you that way," Hi-tech said.

"I know," Rocket gave a small sigh, "at least I know they still like me after I nearly shot my father."

"So you're on desk duty now?" Asked Hi-tech, changing the subject, "for how long?"

"Just another month, that's what the medics told me," replied Rocket.

"Are you still in contact with the Autobots?" Hi-tech wondered.

"Who do you think drove me here? Arcee is down in the hold with the other vehicles," said Rocket.

***

Stone looked up at Arcee, he hadn't expected to run into a Transformer when he had come down to check the Dragonhawk's systems.

"So, how are you finding Earth?" He decided to make small talk with her, he couldn't leave her all alone in the hold with no one to talk to.

"It's pretty - no Cybertron, but it's okay," Arcee replied.

"I see, and the other Autobots, are they getting along okay on Earth?" Stone leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

"One or two are feeling a bit homesick but you can't really blame them. Wheeljack is having fun experimenting on stuff and hasn't blown anything up for about two weeks," Arcee smiled down on the human, "you don't have to stay here and talk to me if you don't want to."

"I haven't got anything better to do," Stone replied, "do you know what the Decepticons are up too?"

"No, they've been quiet. Haven't seen them since they helped Barricade and Frenzy to escape." Arcee answered.

"Well, let's hope they aren't planning anything devious," said Stone.

"Indeed," agreed Arcee.

***

"I have a bad feeling," announced Starscream.

"What kind of a bad feeling?" Asked Thundercracker curiously.

"The kind of feeling I felt whenever I thought Megatron was dead and announced myself ruler of the Decepticons - only for him to sneak up behind me and shoot me," replied Starscream.

As one mech, the two Decepticons turned around slowly and looked behind themselves.

"Nope, no one's there Starscream," stated Thundercracker.

Starscream gave a relieved sigh.

***

Mr Shark enjoyed swimming around the sea, catching fish and maybe an unlucky seal or two. Today was no different, the sun was shining through the water making cool lighting effects for him to swim through.

He spotted a seal, wandering out by itself away from safety to look for some yummy fish. The day couldn't get better for Mr Shark and he begun edging his way towards his lunch.

Something large moving below him startled Mr Shark out of his daydreams of seal sushi and he stop to see what was coming towards him.

His last sight was that of a giant robotic hand moving to grab him, his last thoughts were, "oh shit," but of course - said in Mr Shark's fish language.

Galvatron looked in disgust at the organic mess in his hand, he hadn't expected the creature to burst like it did when he squished it.

He waved his hand around, allowing the sea water to rinse it clean.

He had no idea how he was alive, just that he was - and more powerful than he had been when he had died.

He also knew that now that he was more powerful, he had to have a new name to distinguish himself from his former weaker self, so he was now called Galvatron. Secretly he was rather pleased with the name, he had always wanted to have been named Galvatron instead of Megatron.

His head burst through the waves and he surveyed his surroundings, several other heads popped out of the sea and did the same thing.

One of the heads saw a problem, "hey Megatron - how are we supposed to get back to land?"

"I am no longer Megatron, Blackout! You will now address me as Galvatron," Galvatron snapped at the unfortunate mech, "as for land, I guess we have to swim back."

"How come you get to rename yourself? We have also come back from the dead!" Asked Bonecrusher, a bit sulkily.

"Because I am your leader, am more powerful and will crush you if you continue to question my new name!" Galvatron glared at him.

"I spot a ship," Blackout suddenly pointed out to the other Decepticons.

Galvatron gave an evil grin, "excellent, men - I believe we have found our ride back to land!"

***

Optimus gave a weary sigh, it had been quiet for the last month, but that just meant that the Decepticons were planning something.

They had Cybertron, why couldn't they just leave the Autobots in peace on Earth?

There was a knock on his office door, and without waiting for a reply, Ratchet walked in.

"Thought you could do with some energon, and don't tell me you're not hungry or I'll force-feed you - that being my right as a medic of course," Ratchet plonked a tray of energon cubes on Prime's desk.

"Thanks Ratchet," Optimus didn't feel like arguing and looked down at the energon cubes, "why are they glowing silver instead of the usual pink?"

"It's because I'm trying out a different type of energy from Earth - you can thank Wheeljack for giving me the idea to try it out," Ratchet replied, then saw the look on Prime's face, "don't worry - I made him try out the first cube and he hasn't exploded yet."

"Well, in that case," Prime said as he downed the cube in one shot.

He felt the energon flow through him, filling him up with energy he hadn't felt in ages.

"Ratchet," he asked the medic, "what did you use to make this?"

"A power stone," Ratchet beamed, "you won't believe how many energon cubes you can get from one stone!"

"But what about the side-effects?" Prime was shocked that Ratchet would make him drink something with bad side-effects.

"Relax Optimus," replied Ratchet, "turning it into energon somehow negates the effects it has if it gets blown up - and remember I told you I first tested it out on Wheeljack."

Optimus wasn't sure if he detected a bit of happiness from Ratchet from him using Wheeljack as a guinea-pig.

***

Hi-tech was sitting at his console when the distress signal appeared.

"Duke!" He called out, "we have a ship in distress at these co-ordinates," he pulled up a map on the main monitor.

"Do you know what the problem is?" Asked Duke, as the Sea Titan begun to move towards the location.

"They say, they say," Hi-tech faltered at what he was hearing on his headphones.

"Come on, what is wrong with them?" Duke asked again.

"They say they are being attack by metallic sea monsters!" Replied Hi-tech in disbelief.

"Metallic sea monsters?" Repeated Duke - not believing his ears.

"Well," Scarlett spun her seat round to face him, "it's a good thing we have Arcee on board then!"

***

"So," Arcee looked at Rocket, "when do you think you are going to drop me off on land, seeing as I was planning to go back to my base after I dropped you off?"

"You weren't planning on coming with us?" Rocket asked shocked, "this is going to be a slight problem then!"

"Oh dear," muttered Arcee, "Optimus is so going to ground me to the base when I get back!"

TBC…


	31. Denial of Reincarnation

It took an hour for the Sea Titan to reach the location of where the ship's distress signal had been sent. There was nothing but waves to be seen, and a couple of wet sailors floating around in their life-jackets. These sailors were brought aboard the Sea Titan, of their ship - not even wreckage could be found.

"What happened?" Duke asked the captain, when he had come aboard.

"It was terrible! These giant metallic hands came from under the water and latched onto the ship!" The captain said while shivering.

"Then these horrible monsters pulled themselves onto our ship," the ship's navigator took over the story, "the monsters started pulling us off and throwing us into the sea."

"Some of us weren't lucky enough to grab life-jackets in time," the captain said sadly, glaring at the floor.

"We were just able to send out a distress signal before the monsters destroyed the bridge," explained the navigator.

"What happened to your ship and those monsters?" Asked Scarlett fearfully, glancing at the sea.

"They took our ship and paddled off with it!" The captain sounded disgusted that a couple of metallic sea monsters had hi-jacked his ship.

"Paddled off with it?" Duke repeated puzzled.

"Yes, they used their hands as paddles and took off," answered the captain.

"Do you know which direction they went?" Asked Scarlett.

"Yes," replied the navigator, "they went East and I'm sure I heard them arguing amongst themselves about which direction land was."

"They were arguing about going to land?" Duke looked serious, he turned to Scarlett, "I think we are going to have a chat with Prime about where they dumped those Decepticon bodies."

"You don't think it could be them?" Scarlett asked worriedly, "but they are dead - you can't come back to life!"

"Looks like they just did!" Growled Duke.

***

"I keep telling you - land is in _that_ direction!" Devastator snarled and flung his arm in a Westerly direction.

"Put that arm back into paddling mode!" Galvatron yelled, and continued steering the ship East.

"Why are you so sure that we are heading in the right direction?" Blackout asked him, his arms were beginning to get tired from continuous paddling.

"I just know, that's how. Now stop questioning your leader or I'll make it the last thing you ever do!" Galvatron shouted over his shoulder at the other Decepticon behind him.

They were all sitting side by side in two rows, each paddling one side of the ship. Devastator and Galvatron were in front, with Blackout and Boncrusher behind them.

They made quite a sight for any sore eyes.

"Are any of you wondering where Barricade, Frenzy and Starscream are?" Asked Bonecrusher curiously.

"No, why?" Questioned Blackout.

"Well, shouldn't they be dead too? And if not - where are they?" Bonecrusher looked around at the other Decepticons.

"I'll tell you where that coward Starscream is," Galvatron growled, "he most probably high-tailed it back to Cybertron to crown himself leader of the Decepticons when he saw that I had fallen!"

"You can't blame him," Bonecrusher begun hesitantly, "he was your second-in-command, it was only natural that he would make himself leader if you died."

"You should've seen him when we were searching for you and the All Spark, Lord Galvatron," said Blackout, "always going on how he was leader and that you were never coming back."

"Didn't stop you from challenging him for leadership position," Devastator muttered under his breath.

Blackout glared at him but continued to paddle in silence.

"What do you intend to do to Starscream once you find him, Lord Galvatron?" Asked Bonecrusher.

"What I always do, shoot him in the back when he thinks he has gotten rid of me," Galvatron gave a evil chuckle.

"You are not going to permanently off-line him?" Blackout asked in shock.

"Once I have gotten rid of the Autobots on this planet, I'll let you three finish him off as a reward for remaining loyal towards me towards the very end," Galvatron answered.

***

Arcee was pacing around in the hold, waiting for one of the humans to come and tell her what was going on. She couldn't hear anything, she thought she would at least hear some sounds of battle because of the sea creatures - but nothing.

A door above her opened, and Rocket climbed down the steps towards Arcee.

"So, what's going on?" Arcee asked her.

"Apparently some sea creatures have just hi-jacked a ship and are heading towards land," replied Rocket.

"They stole a ship? What kind of sea creatures do you get on this planet?" Arcee asked, feeling a little bit puzzled.

"Well, giant squids are supposed to have attacked ships in sailor's lore, but in real life this kind of thing doesn't happen," Rocket replied and sat down on the steps to look Arcee in the face.

"So what really happened then?" Questioned Arcee.

"I don't know, tell me Arcee - did Prime ever tell you where the Decepticons were dumped?" Rocket asked quietly.

"You can't be serious Rocket, I know we can reattach limbs which must seem amazing to you humans - but coming back to life is just as difficult for us as it is for you," said Arcee.

"It's just a possibility - these creatures were supposedly made out of metal you know," Rocket pointed out.

"If it were a possibility - then Jazz would still be alive but he is not, so don't you start talking about Decepticons coming back to life!" Arcee growled angrily.

"All right, no need to get so heated about it, I was just asking," Rocket held up her hands in a gesture of peace.

Arcee gave a huff and turned her back on the human.

Rocket sighed and stood up to leave, she paused and looked back at the Autobot, "just to let you know, we are heading back to land to meet up with Prime, so you'll be able to return earlier than expected to your base."

Arcee gave no indication that she had heard and continued to ignore Rocket's presence.

***

Soundwave came out of recharge, he felt empty inside - literally. His Cassettes had run off while he had been off-line and were no where to be seen in the hanger.

"Thundercracker, where are my Cassettes?" He asked the blue seeker who was lounging in a corner.

"How the pit should I know? I'm not their sparkling-sitter!" Thundercracker snapped back at him, his daydream interrupted.

Soundwave looked around, there were several humans running the hanger, doing various jobs for Cobra - but most of them looked like they were cleaning.

He choose one and picked up the Trooper, glaring at the human.

22 gave a frightened squeal and looked at the Decepticon holding him in it's fist.

"Where are my Cassettes meat sack?" Demanded Soundwave.

"Cassettes?" 22 squeaked, "the little version ones of you?"

"That is correct, their location," answered Soundwave.

"I think I may have seen them heading into the Subterranean base," 22 tried to keep his voice from squeaking.

"Why were they heading off in there?" Soundwave asked.

"Frenzy wanted to show off Rocket's room, at least that's what I think he said to the others when they ran past me," replied 22.

"Take me there," growled Soundwave.

"Begging your pardon, but I don't think you'll be able to fit into the corridors going there," 22 waited for the Decepticon to squish him angrily, instead he was placed back onto the floor.

"What am I to do then?" Soundwave looked down at 22, expecting him to know the solution to the problem.

Barricade, who was eavesdropping, decided to add his two cents to the conversation, "use your holo-form," he suggested.

"What?" Asked Soundwave.

"That's how I got down there to get Frenzy, with my holo-form," answered Barricade, feeling a bit smug as he knew something that Soundwave didn't.

Soundwave looked thoughtful for a moment, then a man flickered into view next to 22.

22 averted his gaze from the holo-form Soundwave, while Barricade chuckled.

"You might want to add clothes to your holo-form," said Barricade grinning.

Soundwave looked puzzled before he understood what Barricade meant by 'clothes' and why all the humans were pointedly not looking at him.

"Oh," Soundwave flickered in and out of view, reappearing with clothes on.

"Lead the way squishy," Soundwave ordered 22, who nodded and walked off with Rocket's room as his destination.

***

"Hey, I just thought of something," Bonecrusher announced suddenly.

"Well, that's a first," muttered Blackout, while the other Decepticons chuckled.

"Don't laugh," snapped Bonecrusher, "do you want to hear my idea or not?

"Do tell us," said Galvatron.

"Well, Blackout can fly - so can Lord Galvatron for that matter," said Bonecrusher.

"So," Devastator asked.

"Wouldn't it be faster if they fly ahead while towing the ship and us two paddling?" asked Bonecrusher excitedly.

"You are proposing that I tow you?" Galvatron snarled.

"Not if you don't want to Lord Galvatron - just a suggestion, please don't kill me!" Bonecrusher tried to grovel and paddle at the same time. The result was him nearly falling overboard.

"I have a better idea," Galvatron said, "it'll be even quicker than yours Bonecrusher."

"Really, what is it sir?" Asked Blackout.

"You Blackout will carry Bonecrusher back to land, I'll carry Devastator," ordered Galvatron, "flying will save us time."

"Yes Lord Galvatron," replied Blackout, feeling a bit sulky about having to carry Bonecrusher all the way back to land.

***

Soundwave followed the human through a maze of dark corridors, and stopped when 22 came to a halt outside a room with a door that looked like it had had a bad trip to a toothpick making factory.

Soundwave poked his head in and rested his gaze on his Cassettes recharging on a human bed. Frenzy with a arm wrapped around each Rumble.

"They look so cute," whispered 22 to Soundwave, "do you really want to disturb them?"

"I'll leave them be for the mean time," conceded Soundwave, "only if it means they can't cause any trouble while they are like this."

***

"Optimus!" Prowl yelled as he ran towards his Commander's office.

Optimus stuck his head out of the room when he heard Prowl running towards him.

"Optimus, Duke wants us to meet him at the docks, says it is urgent that we meet!" Prowl yelled when he saw Prime's head poking out.

"Couldn't we talk over the comm if it is that urgent?" Asked Prime.

"Duke says he doesn't want the Decepticons to hack in on the signal," explained Prowl.

"All right, gather a team of Autobots and be ready to roll out in half an hour," Prime ordered his officer.

"Right on it," replied Prowl and he ran off to fulfil his orders.

Optimus felt worried, what could have the humans so bothered that they had to meet face to face?

****

Stone walked into the mess to find Rocket sitting by herself glaring at a glass of water.

"What did the water do to you?" He asked, startling Rocket.

"Nothing," she replied, "I think I must've upset Arcee."

"What did you do to Arcee then?" Asked Stone as he sat down opposite her.

"Just asked if there may be a possibility that these sea creatures could be the _dead_ Decepticons like Duke thinks they could be," answered Rocket.

"The leader of the Decepticons, Megaton or whatever he was called, is one of the dead Decepticons. I think I might be upset too if I thought Cobra Commander was dead only to find out he is still running around causing havoc," said Stone.

"I know, but I didn't think she would get so upset with a simple question - she isn't even talking to me at the moment," Rocket grumbled.

"Maybe you two need a break from each other, you have been together since Arcee landed on Earth. You know the saying of absence makes the heart grow fonder?" Stone suggested.

"You're right, we have been in each others company constantly for a while - everyone needs a break from someone sometimes," agreed Rocket.

"Well, she'll be going back to the Autobot base when we reach land, I think you two will get all the space you need then," said Stone.

***

"Oh, I feel like such a slag head at the moment!" Snarled Blackout as he followed Galvatron.

"Imagine what I feel like!" Bonecrusher yelled back.

Luckily for the two of them, land was fast approaching. City lights were beckoning them closer.

"Hey," called out Devastator, "maybe we should try to contact Barricade in case he is still on this mud ball planet?"

"Don't be stupid," replied Blackout, "what makes you think he'll even answer us? He thinks we are dead and will dismiss our call as a Autobot trick."

"Right," yelled back Galvatron, "not to mention the Autobots might pick up the signal!"

***

Scott was taking S.P.U.D.D for a walk in the evening air. Not that S.P.U.D.D actually needed a walk, but what good was it to build a robot dog if you didn't at least take it for walks like a normal dog? One good thing was that he didn't have to worry about picking up after S.P.U.D.D.

He looked up at the sky when S.P.U.D.D growled. Something was flying past, it didn't look like a normal aircraft - but maybe something Destro, Overkill and Hi-tech might come up with if they ever worked together… and were drunk… and maybe high on drugs too for extra measure.

As it got closer, Scott saw it was two individual U.F.O.s flying close together.

Even closer and the U.F.O.s got a shape, in the form of a robot carrying another robot underneath it.

They came closer and got lower to the ground.

Scott heard the lead carrying robot snarl something about landing and jumped into a bush dragging S.P.U.D.D along with him.

From his hiding spot, he saw the two carrying robots drop their load, and heard the dropped robots curse angrily as they hit the ground.

"You could've been gentler," Devastator moaned as he rubbed his aft.

"Are you questioning your leader?" Demanded Galvatron angrily.

"No mighty Galvatron, just giving a suggestion for the future," Devastator said hurriedly.

"Where are we anyway?" Asked Blackout.

"I think we are in Megalocity," replied Bonecrusher.

"What are your orders Lord Galvatron?" Blackout looked at his leader.

"We lay low and find out where the Autobots are hiding - then we crush them!" He finished off his sentence with a bit of maniacal laughter.

"Good, I always enjoy a bit of Autobot crushing," Bonecrusher grinned evilly.

"Decepticons, transform!" Ordered Galvatron and doing so himself - flew off to find a hiding place.

The other Decepticons followed suit, leaving Scott sitting in a bush with S.P.U.D.D.

"Did you record that boy?" Scott asked his robot dog.

S.P.U.D.D gave a whine and nodded his head.

"Good, because I think Duke is going to want to hear that!" Said Scott, "can you track where the Sea Titan is boy?"

S.P.U.D.D opened up a monitor on his back to show a flashing dot heading towards Megalocity harbour.

"It looks like they'll be here soon, let's go meet them there at the docks boy!" Scott announced, and watched as S.P.U.D.D drew its legs in and pulled two rocket launchers out of its back.

Effectively transforming itself into a flying robot dog.

Scott climbed onto S.P.U.D.D's back and the robot sped off towards the docks of Megalocity.

T.B.C…


	32. It Just Isn't Fair

Optimus pulled up where the Sea Titan berthed when it came into harbour. Along with him was Ironhide, Prowl, Ratchet and Bumblebee.

This part of the docks was secured, so he and the others transformed into their robot form to wait for the Sea Titan to come in.

It wasn't long before the Sea Titan was spotted being guided in by several tugboats, it took several more minutes for the Sea Titan to be finished with docking.

Duke soon appeared with Scarlett, Hi-tech and Stone. Duke nodded a greeting, which Prime returned.

"What is this urgent matter that you wish to discuss with us?" Asked Prime getting straight to business.

"Metallic sea creatures have just hi-jacked a ship," Duke answered.

"Apart from the metallic part, what does that have to do with us?" Ironhide growled.

"We believe that your dead Decepticons may have just risen," Scarlett told him.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ratchet said, "you can't come back to life once you are dead - I should know - I'm a medic!"

"I know this sounds far-fetched but this incident did happen more or less near where those bodies were dumped," said Duke.

"There's a flying robot dog approaching us," Bumblebee suddenly said.

"Not now Bumblebee, this isn't the time for jokes!" Prowl reprimanded him.

"No, there really is a flying robot dog coming towards us!" Bumblebee insisted and pointed in the direction of said sight.

Everyone turned to look at what Bumblebee was pointing too. Sure enough - there _was_ a fast approaching flying robot dog.

"It's Scott and S.P.U.D.D!" Called out Scarlett.

"I wonder what he is doing here?" Asked Hi-tech.

"We'll soon find out," said Duke, as S.P.U.D.D came to a stop by Prowl's feet.

"Duke - you have to hear this!" Scott yelled as he got off S.P.U.D.D, "it's important!"

"Scott - we've been over this before, new music that you have just gotten is not important enough to track us down! Only real emergencies are!" Duke yelled back.

"What? No - this is different!" Scott replied, "and I already said sorry for that time!"

"Really, then what is so important?" Asked Duke.

Bumblebee looked curiously at S.P.U.D.D as the robot dog rolled onto it's back by his foot and gave a whine.

"He want's you to give him a tummy scratch," Hi-tech informed Bumblebee, who cautiously rubbed S.P.U.D.D's stomach with a finger.

"S.P.U.D.D and I were out walking when these robot's landed near us," Scott started his tale, "they started talking about destroying the Autobots. Luckily S.P.U.D.D recorded their conversation."

"Destroying Autobots?" Ironhide snarled, "could be Starscream and the other Decepticreeps."

"Can you play the conversation please?" Asked Optimus.

"Sure," said Scott, "come on S.P.U.D.D - play the recording boy!"

S.P.U.D.D gave a whine and rolled over from his tummy scratch, his eyes glowed as he played out the recording.

_"You could've been gentler."_

_"Are you questioning your leader?"_

_"No mighty Galvatron, just giving a suggestion for the future."_

_"Where are we anyway?"_

_"I think we are in Megalocity."_

_"What are your orders Lord Galvatron?"_

_"We lay low and find out where the Autobots are hiding - then we crush them!"_

_(Maniacal laughter)._

_"Good, I always enjoy a bit of Autobot crushing."_

_"Decepticons, transform!"_

The recording came to an end.

"Who the frag is Galvatron?" Asked Ironhide.

"Prime are you all right?" Ratchet asked, seeing his leader seemed to be shocked.

"Galvatron - that's the name Megatron always wanted to have been named, he must've told me that dozens of times while growing up," Optimus spoke quietly.

"It's impossible that this mech was Megatron - he's dead!" Snarled Ratchet angrily.

"No - it's him, it even sounded like him," replied Optimus, "I even feel his spark has returned. The feeling has been bothering me for a while now - I just thought I was getting old."

"Well, this just sucks," muttered Hi-tech.

"Do you mean to say that those Decepticons have really come back to life? That our theory was right?" Scarlett asked, shocked.

"Seems like it - though there is no logical explanation for it," answered Prowl.

"He's back? Megatron is back?" Bumblebee glanced at Prime - willing him to say it was all just a bad joke.

"I'm afraid so, Bumblebee," Prime replied sadly.

***

"Are you going to sit there and sulk all day? Or are you going to at least say goodbye to me before you leave?" Rocket asked the pink femme standing before her.

Arcee glanced down at her, "bye," she said coldly.

"We might not see each other for a while, is that really how you want us to part ways?" Rocket tried again.

"I'm going now," Arcee announced and begun walking towards the ramp that was lifted towards the main deck.

"Arcee wait!" Called out Rocket, "I still see you as my friend and partner you know, and I don't care what you think about that. When you want to come visit me - don't hesitate all right?"

"I'll see what I feel like later," Arcee grudgingly agreed.

"Well, have a safe trip back to your base okay!" Rocket waved goodbye, "I'll be looking forward to getting rid of some Decepticons with you later, and you can help me with Cobras!"

"Whatever," Arcee stepped onto the ramp and rose up out of view.

Rocket turned and left the hold to meet up with the others outside.

"Goodbye Rocket," Arcee said quietly.

***

"So you want us to carry out a raid on Megalocity?" Starscream glared at Cobra Commander, "whatever for?"

"The Megalocity Science Academy has created a new type of fusion engine - and I want it!" Shrieked back Cobra Commander, "you Decepticons shall be the diversion so that my agents can get in and steal it without hassle!"

"When do we leave?" Stormshadow asked, by Thundercracker's foot.

"Immediately, now go!" Cobra Commander ordered.

"You remind me of Megatron," said Starscream as he turned to leave.

"Why? Was he as great a leader as I am?" Asked Cobra Commander.

"No - you are both impatient idiots who somehow got to be leaders," Starscream ducked and ran out of the throne room as Cobra Commander's enraged scream followed him.

***

"I'm detecting Autobot signatures," Blackout announced.

"Shall we go pay them a visit?" Galvatron grinned evilly as he asked the rhetoric question.

"I want to see if they're scared of ghosts," cackled Devastator.

"Let us go then!" Galvatron transformed and took off.

***

"No, its not fair!" Yelled Bumblebee, "if they get to come back to life - then what about Jazz? He has more right than they do!"

"I know Bumblebee, I don't know how they managed to do it," said Optimus to the young scout.

"You mean they really are alive again?" A shocked voice behind them asked.

Prime turned to see Arcee, "I'm afraid so, yes."

"No," Arcee whispered and sunk to the ground, staring at nothing as she tried to comprehend the fact.

"How could this have happened?" Bumblebee snarled and punched the ground angrily.

"Bumblebee please calm down," said Prowl, "there is nothing we can do about it at the moment."

Ironhide was sitting down, wondering how to break the news to Chromia - this planet was supposed to be a safe haven for her.

His thoughts were disrupted by yells from the others, telling Bumblebee to come back.

"Leave him," said Optimus, "watching the scout disappear, "he needs some time alone."

"How are we going to tell the others?" Asked Ironhide, "they came to this planet because they thought it was safe!"

"I don't know Ironhide, I don't know," replied Optimus heavily.

"Prime!" Prowl suddenly looked up, "there are reports downtown of three jets shooting up the city!"

"Starscream," growled Ironhide, "just what I need to take my anger out on!"

"Ratchet, contact Red Alert and tell him to send backup," ordered Optimus.

He looked around at those around him, Arcee still trying to come to terms with the news, Ironhide wanting to kill anything with a Decepticon symbol, Prowl trying to find a logical answer for what had happened and Ratchet hiding what he was feeling inside with a calm exterior. Of Bumblebee, he didn't know, 'please don't let him run into trouble,' he thought to himself.

"Autobots! Roll out!" Optimus transformed and drove in the direction of Starscream and company.

***

"Look at them run screaming!" Cackled Skywarp, as he strafed a group of civilians.

Behind him, Thundercracker gave a high pitched scream.

Not turning around, Skywarp said to him, "yes - screaming just like that! How did you get so good at screaming anyway?"

Then he turned around, saw what Thundercracker screamed at - and screamed himself.

Galvatron was standing on a roof by Thundercracker grinning, behind him were the other born again Decepticons.

"Ggghosts!" Thundercracker yelled, sounding like Frenzy.

"Not quite, we are actually quite solid I assure you two," smirked Galvatron.

Skywarp looked at him, he looked kind of like Megatron, but purple and stronger.

"Megatron?" He tried.

"No, I am Galvatron!" Snarled Galvatron, "Megatron was my weaker self - never call me by that name again!"

"Yes!" Both Thundercracker and Skywarp yelled in fear.

"Seeing as you two are both here, I assume that moron Starscream is around here somewhere - where is he?" Asked Galvatron.

"He went off to torment some flesh bags on his own," answered Thundercracker.

"Begging your pardon, mighty Meg… uh… Galvatron, but may I ask - why are you alive?" Skywarp asked fearfully.

"It was a miracle of the All Spark," replied Galvatron, "now what are you two doing here shooting up this city?"

"We were ordered to," answered Thundercracker.

"By Starscream?" Enquired Galvatron.

"Not quite," muttered Skywarp.

"What do you mean by 'not quite'?" Demanded Galvatron.

"Er, we are working with a human terrorist organisation, in exchange for a base for us to work from so that we can exact revenge against the Autobots… for um… killing you," Thundercracker suddenly knew how Barricade felt when answering Starscream's questions.

Galvatron was silent, he seemed lost in thought.

Thundercracker backed up until he was side by side with Skywarp - both of them wishing they had never left Cybertron to search for Starscream.

"Take me to these humans," Galvatron said suddenly.

"Yes, Lord Galvatron," Thundercracker transformed, followed by the others.

"But what about the Autobots?" Asked Blackout.

"We can deal with them later," replied Galvatron.

He took off and followed the two seekers back to the Cobra base.

***

Bumblebee sped through the streets, ignoring the angry yells of the drivers he passed.

Only one thing was on his thought processor - how can a monster like Megatron be granted a second chance, while a good mech like Jazz was ignored?

It wasn't fair, it isn't fair, it shouldn't be fair!

Maybe Jazz did come back to life, and was sitting alone in his tomb wondering where everyone was?

Bumblebee changed direction slightly, he now had a destination in mind - not just driving aimlessly to clear his thoughts.

He had to go see Jazz's body - just in case he did come back too.

Unfortunately - he didn't notice the jet above him, begin to follow him.

'Please be alive, it wouldn't be fair if they came back and you didn't!' Bumblebee thought as he turned a corner on two wheels.

***

"There is no one here," growled Prowl.

"But they were certainly here," said Ratchet, sweeping a hand to indicate the general destruction of the area.

"I can't believe we missed those fragging Deceptimorons!" Ironhide snarled, and kicked a piece of rubble.

"Let's head back to base," sighed Optimus, "Arcee - send a message to Bumblebee to meet us back there when he is feeling better."

Arcee nodded silently, she hadn't spoken much since she heard the news.

"I've let Red Alert's team know that they should head back to base," said Ratchet.

"Thank you," Prime replied, "now we have to break the news to them."

"I'm not looking forward to that," Prowl said.

***

Jazz's tomb wasn't that far from Megalocity, Prime had asked for it to be somewhere tranquil and far from where any fighting for the All Spark had taken place.

The government found an out of the way cave and cordoned it off to the public, saying it was needed for government research.

Bumblebee pulled up outside and transformed before going inside.

The Autobots had constructed a metallic tomb inside, Jazz rested in the centre inside a metal casket. His body had been welded back together by Ratchet.

Bumblebee entered slowly, making his way towards the tomb and the casket in the middle of it.

There was no sound coming from the casket, but Bumblebee had to be sure and he pushed the lid off. Jazz still lay inside, but he was still spark-less - he had not been brought back to life.

Bumblebee stood and stared at the inert body for a while, before he slowly replaced the lid of the casket.

He staggered outside and collapsed to his knees onto the ground.

He stared at the ground, "it isn't fair," he muttered to himself.

"IT JUST ISN'T FAIR!"

TBC…


	33. Shock, Horror, Gasp, Scream

"Oh, what do we have here? A crying Autobrat!" Starscream sneered as he landed in front of Bumblebee.

Bumblebee looked up at the seeker, "why are you here? Why aren't you fleeing now that he is back like the coward you are?"

"What are you talking about?" Demanded Starscream angrily.

"Megatron, he's back - didn't you know?" Replied Bumblebee sadly.

"Don't talk nonsense you stupid Autobot, dead is dead! That is why I'm leader of the Decepticons now!" Starscream growled, and then looked up at the cave he had seen Bumblebee enter, "what's in there? Don't tell me its the back entrance to your base!"

"Its just a cave," replied Bumblebee, "that is all."

"I don't think _'just a cave'_ is enough to make you depressed, now tell me what is really in that cave!" Starscream stalked past Bumblebee towards the cave.

"Don't go in there!" Snarled Bumblebee.

Starscream stopped and looked back at him, "oh, so there is something more to this cave if you are so protective towards it."

"Don't put one inch of your filthy Decepticreepness inside that cave," Bumblebee stood up from his kneeling position.

"Or what? What can you do minibot?" Taunted Starscream, and he turned back towards the cave.

It was the last straw for Bumblebee after the day he had just had, he tackled Starscream.

***

Barricade was bored, he had been left behind at the base along with Soundwave and the Cassettes. At least he didn't have Frenzy bothering him with some useless information that he had just come across on the internet.

He had bullied some of the Troopers into giving him a wash so he was sitting just outside the hanger. It was a hard choice between having fleshlings touch him, or to continue being covered in dirt. Barricade gave in to the wash, after he discovered that dust was made up largely of human dead skin cells.

'Disgusting creatures,' Barricade thought as one of the Troopers vacuumed his backseat.

Soundwave was inside, trying to track Autobot signals. He had decided that the Autobot base must be near to the Cobra base, because of their quick arrival when Prowl was mistaken for Barricade.

So far, all he was getting were annoying human radio stations.

The Cassettes were all gathered in a group in a corner, discussing various items of interest that Frenzy had picked up on the Web. He was currently telling his fellow Cassettes about cosplay.

Barricade was the first to hear the approaching jet engines, "sounds like they are coming back," he called through the open door of the hanger to the other Decepticons.

"They are being accompanied by others," replied Soundwave, whose hearing was better than Barricades.

"How many others?" Questioned Barricade.

"So far it sounds like one helicopter, and one of the Seeker's engine doesn't sound like it normally should. As if they had been replaced by another," answered Soundwave.

Barricade gave a grunt and transformed, scattering the Troopers gathered around him.

He looked towards the horizon, in the direction of the travelling aircraft. Soundwave soon joined him.

Four specks appeared in the distance, steadily growing larger as they came closer.

Barricade was able to make out that two of the approaching objects were carrying some thing with them.

"I can make out Thundercracker and Skywarp, but the others I do not recognise," remarked Soundwave.

Barricade didn't answer, he was too busy staring at the form that looked so similar to Megatron's alt-form.

Soundwave took a startled step backwards when the new arrivals finally landed and transformed, Barricade just carried on staring in shock.

"What? No welcome for your leader?" Smirked Galvatron.

"But, but… you're dead!" Barricade pointed a shaky finger at them.

Thundercracker and Skywarp edged off to the side, they had been made to carry Bonecrusher and Devastator.

"Ah, but as you can see we are very much alive," Galvatron swept an arm out as if to show how full of life he was, "the All Spark has decided to grant us a second chance to destroy the Autobots!"

"We are grateful that you are back among us Lord Megatron," Soundwave bowed.

"I am now known as Galvatron!" Reprimanded Galvatron, "a new name for a new body!"

"If I may ask Lord Galvatron," Barricade found his voice, "but where is Starscream?"

"I do not know, I thought he would have flown back here," replied Galvatron.

"Are we still working with the humans?" Asked Soundwave.

"Maybe," Galvatron gave a malicious grin, "show me to their leader."

***

"Optimus, what happened today?" A worried Red Alert ambushed Prime as soon as he walked into the base.

"Not now Red Alert, call every one into the briefing room. I have some bad news," Optimus said as he walked towards his office, in order to clear his thought processors while everyone gathered for the meeting.

"Yes, Prime," replied Red Alert as he ran off to do as he was asked.

'Primus help us,' thought Optimus wearily.

***

"Now, what lesson have you learned today Autobrat?" Starscream mocked as he kicked a groaning Bumblebee in the side, "picking fights with mechs you know you can't win against is a very bad idea!"

Starscream gave off an evil laugh and turned his attention back to the cave, "now let me see what you don't want me too!"

He walked into the cave and saw a light coming from further up in the cave's tunnel.

Grinning, he walked towards it and came into a metallic room with a metallic casket in the centre.

He looked closer at the casket, 'Jazz' was engraved on the top.

"So this is where they dumped you," Starscream muttered, "actually thought there might be something with worthwhile in here."

He gave the casket a kick and left the cave, and saw Bumblebee trying to drag himself towards the cave.

"You don't learn do you?" Starscream bent down and lifted Bumblebee up by the back of his neck.

"What did you do in there?" Bumblebee growled weakly.

"I'll leave you to your imagination," smirked Starscream.

Bumblebee snarled and tried to punch the Decepticon, Starscream laughed and dropped him back onto the ground.

"You're going to be useful to me Autobrat, I need to find out where your base is," Starscream looked down at Bumblebee, "and I'm going to have so much fun getting you to tell me where it is!"

Bumblebee glared daggers at Starscream, but was too weak to stop the larger Decepticon from picking him up and flying off with him.

***

"Cobra Commander," Destro walked up to the throne, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"Well don't just stand there! Tell me!" Screeched back Cobra Commander.

"More of those Decepticons have arrived my lord," informed Destro.

"What? More of them?" Cobra Commander snarled angrily.

"Yes, and apparently one of them is their formally deceased leader - and he wants to talk to you!" Destro replied.

"Well, send him in then," ordered Cobra Commander.

Destro nodded and hurried out of the throne room, after several minutes - Galvatron strode into the room.

"Greetings human, I am Galvatron - lord of the Decepticons and Cybertron!" He introduced himself.

"I am Cobra Commander, I see you are a least better at introductions than that whiny jet!" Said Cobra Commander.

Galvatron allowed himself a brief smile over Starscream being referred to as an 'whiny jet'.

"Indeed, it is because I am the rightful leader. My second-in-command likes to get ideas above his station at times," replied Galvatron.

"I know the feeling," Cobra Commander said, while shooting a dirty look at Destro hiding just outside the room.

"I believe my subjects have come up with an agreement with you?" Asked Galvatron.

"Yes, they help us destroy Sigma 6 and we help them with their Autobot problem. It is mutually beneficial as the Autobots have teamed up with Sigma 6," replied Cobra Commander.

"But do we really need you, what can a few humans teamed up with the Autobots do against us mighty Decepticons?" Asked Galvatron.

"Were you not destroyed by a human who had teamed up with the Autobots? And you men as well? These humans who belong to Sigma 6 have more advanced weaponry compared to the weapons used to destroy your men," answered Cobra Commander.

"True, I see now that this is a more or less reasonable alliance," Galvatron nodded.

"I'm glad you can agree to our alliance," Cobra Commander smiled beneath his mask.

Galvatron walked back into the hanger, to see the anxious looks of the other Decepticons, wanting to know if they were to be working with the humans.

"We are staying here," Galvatron announced, "the hanger like before, is strictly ours though the humans can use it as a through fare."

"So, we are actually teaming up with meatbags?" Asked Bonecrusher.

"Did I just not say that?" Growled Galvatron.

Soundwave tilted his head to the side, "I hear Starscream approaching."

"Good, you lot who didn't come back to life, get outside and greet him," Galvatron ordered with an evil smile.

***

The Autobots sat and stared at Prime in shock, he had just told them their worst nightmare had come back to life.

"You're not serious Optimus, please tell me this is your idea of a bad joke!" Pleaded Landmine.

"I wish this was a bad joke, but it isn't," replied Optimus sadly.

"Where is Bumblebee?" Asked Red Alert, "does he know? Is he with the humans?"

"He does know, that is why he is missing. He needed some time alone," answered Prowl.

"I've asked Arcee to contact him later," said Optimus.

"I suppose this means we need to start preparing for battle," sighed Elita.

"Unfortunately yes," agreed Optimus.

***

Starscream landed with Bumblebee slung over one shoulder, he stared at the Decepticons waiting outside for him.

"What are you lot standing around out here for?" Starscream demanded, "enjoying the sunset?"

"No, we um, decided to come out and greet you," replied Thundercracker, while Skywarp glanced nervously back at the hanger.

"Okay, you lot are just acting weird," said Starscream and he begun to walk towards the hanger.

The others parted to let him pass.

"Do you know what this stupid Autobot said to me today?" Starscream asked them.

"No," replied Barricade.

"He tried to scare me by telling me Megatron had come back to life!" Starscream chuckled while the other Decepticons shot each other nervous glances.

"How stupid can you be to believe that?" Starscream got closer to the hanger, "I mean it's not like 'mighty' Megatron who got offlined by a pathetic human would have enough ability to be able to rise from the dead! And if he did - he would be too stupid to know how to use it!" Starscream gave a cackle and stepped into the hanger.

"Why hello there Starscream," greeted Galvatron.

"Aaaaarrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

TBC…


	34. Bumblebee is M.I.A

Starscream stared in horror at his risen lord. He had dropped Bumblebee in his shock and the little yellow scout had joined him in staring in horror.

Galvatron gave an evil smirk and walked towards the pair.

"What's this Starscream? No greeting for me?" Galvatron asked as he stopped in front of Starscream.

The terrified seeker could only open and close his mouth wordlessly.

Galvatron glanced down at Bumblebee, "at least I see you have brought me a welcome back present!"

The frightened Autobot scrambled backwards until his back hit the hanger's wall - not taking his optics off Galvatron once as he did so.

Starscream finally found his voice, "Lord Megatron? It really is you! But how?"

"That Starscream, is my little secret," Galvatron's smirk grew into a frown, "and I shall say this only one more time for your benefit Starscream. My name is no longer Megatron - I am Lord Galvatron!"

***

"So what does this mean for us? That this leader of the Decepticons has come back from the dead?" Asked Stone.

The Sigma 6 team were gathered in the briefing room.

"I honestly don't know," answered Duke seriously, "all I know is that our jobs are going to become considerably harder in the near future."

"Well, that sucks!" Pointed out Tunnel Rat.

"Do you know if Arcee is coming back here, or is she going to continue staying with her fellow Autobots," Scarlett asked Rocket.

"I hope she comes back, but I think she is going to want to carry on staying at the Autobot base," Rocket replied.

"You got to look at it from her view, I wouldn't want to be stuck on a ship if I was made of metal either," said Hi-tech.

"Not to mention there isn't a lot of space for Arcee to stretch her legs when she wants too," put in Stone.

"I'm just hoping that this 'Galvatron' doesn't decide to team up with Cobra, like that Barricade did," Heavy Duty said.

"Don't we all?" Sighed Duke.

***

Soundwave crept up to Galvatron's side.

"Lord Galvatron, I've intercepted and blocked several Autobot transmissions," said Soundwave, "I believe they are trying to ascertain this one's whereabouts." He nodded towards Bumblebee.

"Good work Soundwave, can you triangulate the transmission's origins?" Asked Soundwave.

"I am currently working on it my lord," Soundwave replied.

"Excellent, soon the destruction of the Autobots will become reality!" Galvatron grinned and then turned his attention back to Starscream.

"Report Starscream, what have you been doing since my 'demise' and what was your plan for returning to this mud ball of a planet?" He ordered the Seeker.

"My lord, my plan was simple!" Starscream spoke up, "it was to reap revenge upon the Autobots for off-lining you and to retrieve your body so that it may rest on planet Cybertron, well - that was the plan, but you are now alive and I will follow your orders again!"

Skywarp nudged Thundercracker, "his plan? He was just sitting on an astoroid till we showed up and made him come back to Earth with us!"

"I know, but this is Starscream we are talking about," whispered back Thundercracker.

"Still…," Skywarp gave Starscream's back an angry glare.

Oblivious to the indignant muttering going on in the background, Galvatron seemed to actually be impressed with Starscream for once.

"I'm amazed Starscream, I'd have thought that you would've messed up in the 'leader of the Decepticons' position. But here you are, back on Earth and you have brought with you a few loyal soldiers… and you have even managed to capture an Autobot - albeit an easy one to capture," said Galvatron.

Starscream didn't know whether to accept that as a complement or as an insult. He decided to play it safe and suck up.

"Why thank you Lord Galvatron - your praise means so much to me!" He ignored Frenzy and Rumble pretending to gag behind Galvatron's back.

He just shot them a dirty look, while Soundwave clipped them on the back of their heads.

***

"Optimus!"

Prime turned to see a worried Arcee running towards him.

"What is the matter Arcee?" Optimus asked gently as she stopped in front of him.

"It's Bee! I can't get hold of him - something is blocking my transmissions to him!" Arcee replied.

"Are you sure something is blocking them and that he just not ignoring you?" Asked Optimus, as he ran through a list of possibilities.

"I'm pretty sure!" Arcee wrung her hands nervously.

"Let's think of what could be causing the transmissions to be blocked before we assume the worst," Optimus suggested.

"Like what?" Asked Arcee.

"Mountains, he could be in a mountainous area and that is causing the blockage, or he could be in Jazz's tomb - a cave would block a transmission as well," answered Optimus.

"I'm not sure, I have a feeling in my spark that something bad has happened to him! You don't think he could have run into some Decepticons do you?" Arcee asked worriedly.

"I don't know, but I'll send out some search parties if that'll make you feel better Arcee," said Optimus.

"It will, thank you Optimus!" Replied Arcee and she ran off again.

Prime watched her leave, he didn't want to admit it out loud, but he had a bad feeling in his spark too about Bumblebee's whereabouts.

***

Hi-tech walked into the mess, to find Duke drinking some coffee and enjoying a brief break.

"What's up Hi-tech?" Duke asked.

"The Autobots just called, wanted to know if we have seen Bumblebee since he ran off earlier on today," replied Hi-tech.

"He hasn't returned to their base yet?" Duke looked puzzled.

"Apparently not - or I don't think they would've asked us if we had seen him," Hi-tech replied dryly.

"Right, of course," Duke finished off the last of his coffee and stood up, "ask them if they want our help in looking for him."

"Will do so," replied Hi-tech.

"And ask the ninja team to meet with me on the bridge please," added Duke as Hi-tech left the mess.

***

Prowl knocked on Optimus's office door and entered.

"The humans haven't seen him either," Prowl said to Optimus, "but they have offered to help look for Bumblebee."

"Thank you Prowl, send Mirage and Arcee over to team up with Sigma 6 please," said Optimus.

"Yes sir," replied Prowl.

The ninja team faced Duke on the bridge.

"I want you to check out the Cobra base, just in case Bumblebee isn't there," ordered Duke.

Snake Eyes nodded then looked up as Rocket walked into the bridge.

"I want to go too," announced Rocket.

"You can't, you are not on active duty yet," replied Duke.

"But I know the Cobra base better than anyone else!" Whined Rocket.

"No," Duke said firmly.

"Please, don't make me beg Duke - come on… please!" Rocket tried her best to imitate puppy eyes.

"No means no Rocket!" Duke glared at her.

"But I'm so bored just sitting around doing nothing! If you let me go - I promise I'll just sit and wait in the car while they do all the dirty work! Just let me go for the ride!" Rocket tried again to sway Duke.

Duke glanced at Scarlett who gave a slight nod, "if we don't let her go - she is just going to stay her and pester us Duke."

"Fine - but remember what you said! You will stay in the car or else!" Duke told her.

"Thank you, I promise!" Rocket punched the air in victory and ran out of the bridge.

"You know she isn't going to keep that promise," Jinx put in.

Duke just gave a defeated sigh.

***

Rocket ran down the gangplank and into something invisible. She fell back onto the ground with a loud "ouch!"

"Watch where you are going!" Cried an indignant voice.

"Don't blame her Mirage - you are the invisible one!" Said Arcee as she drove forward to check on Rocket who was sitting on the ground.

"Arcee!" Rocket cried happily, "you are back!"

"We are here to help you to help us to search for Bumblebee," said Arcee, "though that sounds a little odd when said out loud."

"Cool, rides!" Kamakura said as he and Jinx walked down the gangplank to join Rocket.

"I was wondering how we were going to get there, seeing as Sensei has the ninja bike and we have nothing," added Jinx.

"Well, one of you can ride me," said Arcee, "the other two can ride in Mirage.

"No bike riding for me," sighed Rocket, "part of doctor's orders."

"So then, it's either you or me," Jinx said, eyeing Kamakura.

"You can ride Arcee," Kamakura told her, "its warmer in the car anyway."

"The _car_ has a name," Mirage huffed.

"Sorry," apologised Kamakura and got into Mirage, followed by Rocket.

Mirage took off, leaving Arcee and Jinx to catch up to him.

***

"Galvatron, sir, if Soundwave can locate the Autobot base with the transmission - what is the point of keeping this Autobot alive? Can we destroy him?" Blackout asked eagerly.

"Not until we ascertain that the transmissions have indeed come from the Autobot base," replied Galvatron, "if they did not - we would still need the Autobot then. And a lot of stupid looking Decepticons we would be if we had killed him, wouldn't we be?"

"Of course, Lord Galvatron, you are right," said Blackout.

Bumblebee shivered in the corner where he had been left. He couldn't contact the others because Soundwave was jamming him, 'slagging glitch,' thought Bumblebee angrily.

How in the pit do these things always happen to him?

He ignored the Cassettes who were making rude hand gestures at him, ones that they had picked up online.

Soundwave noticed them and sighed to himself, he should've checked out this 'internet' thing before allowing Frenzy to show it to the others. Now he had to devise an unhackable youngling lock program of Cybertronian standards that his Cassettes wouldn't be able to break.

He should've listened to Barricade's warning about the dangers of the internet for younglings.

Soundwave gave another sigh.

Starscream was sitting in another corner, pretending to be watching Skywarp and Thundercracker play some gambling game. What he really was doing was throwing Galvatron nervous glances and wondering why the Decepticon leader hadn't beaten the slag out of him yet.

When was he going to snap and threaten to permanently off-line Starscream? It was like a sick waiting game.

***

"We are almost there," announced Mirage, "the others should be waiting for us there."

"About time, I was beginning to get bored with the scenery," said Rocket.

"You are the one who begged to be allowed to come on this mission," Kamakura reminded her.

"I know, doesn't mean I can't get bored on the way there," Rocket replied.

"What will you do if Bumblebee is not at this base?" Asked Mirage.

"Look somewhere else obviously," said Kamakura.

"And what would we do if he is there?" Rocket wondered out aloud.

"Find some way to get him out, of course," Kamakura replied, "of course we'll let Duke and the others know first and then we'll form a plan."

"I see Arcee and the others parked up ahead," Mirage informed the two humans.

"Great," Kamakura turned to Rocket, "remember - you promised to stay in the car."

"Yes, yes - I remember," Rocket rejected the urge to roll her eyes at the reminder.

"And remember human - this _car_ has a name!" Hissed Mirage.

"Oh right, sorry Mirage," Kamakura said apologetically.

Snake Eyes nodded as Kamakura got out of Mirage, and the three ninjas disappeared into the night.

"Looks like it's just the three of us left here," Rocket said to the two Autobots, "anyone feel like breaking a few promises?"

TBC…


	35. Tiptoe Trouble

"What do you mean by breaking a few promises?" Arcee questioned Rocket.

"I mean - you two help me sneak into Cobra's base so that I can look for Bumblebee," Rocket smiled innocently back at the femme.

"No," Arcee replied firmly.

"But you haven't even heard my reasons why yet!" Whined Rocket like a little child.

"I don't need to hear them, I know that you were given explicit orders from your commanding officer to not get involved in the mission," Arcee gave a smug smile.

"You don't know what will happen in there like I do," Rocket said, "the ninja team will come across Stormshadow - start fighting and then retreat back to base! But - if I sneak into the base as well, I won't get caught up in that battle and will be free to look around for Bumblebee," Rocket looked hopefully at the Autobot.

"How can you be so sure that they will battle Stormshadow?" Asked Arcee.

"Because that is one of life's certainties," replied Rocket.

***

"Sensei, are you sure this is the right way to the hanger?" Asked Kamakura as they wandered down a long, dark corridor after having sneaked in through an air-vent.

"Of course Sensei is sure!" Snapped back Jinx.

"I was just asking, no need to bite off my head," replied Kamakura.

Snake-eyes ignored his two students bickering and continued walking ahead until a shuriken materialised by his feet.

Looking up, he almost groaned… did Stormshadow have a tracking device on him or something? The way he kept showing up was getting beyond ninja creepy.

"So brother," gloated Stormshadow, "I see you have come to finish our battle!"

"Sensei will defeat you!" Yelled Jinx.

"Yeah! You're no match for him!" Kamakura added.

Snake-eyes gave a sigh before drawing one of his katana and readied himself for Stormshadow's attack.

***

"Right about now, Stormshadow will be muttering something about how Snake-eyes betrayed the Arashikage Clan, while Jinx and Kamakura will be yelling back about how he is wrong and that Sensei would never betray anyone," Rocket was staring at the time on her sigma gauntlet, "after that the two of them will start attacking each other."

"So if you are right about this and we do sneak you into the base, what about when the ninja's retreat and you are not here?" Asked Mirage.

"I'm glad you've asked me that Mirage, as you will be staying here - helping me," replied Rocket.

"Why Mirage?" Asked Arcee.

"Well, Snake-eyes has his ninja bike to get away on, Jinx and Kamakura can both ride you - but Mirage can turn invisible and wait out here for me without anyone knowing. That way all the bad guys will assume that all the good guys have left and won't bother searching their base for me," Explained Rocket.

"I'm not sure about this idea," Arcee said.

"Come on," said Mirage, "if it is for Bumblebee - then I'm in."

"If you two are so set on this idea, then I don't see anyway for me to talk you out of it," Arcee shrugged in defeat.

"Great, tell the others we'll meet them back at the Sea Titan later Arcee," Rocket said as she jumped into Mirage and the two of them disappeared into thin air.

"Sure - leave me to do the explaining," growled Arcee.

***

Snake-eyes deflected a blow from Stormshadow and risked a glance at his students to see how they were fending against all the ninja B.A.T.S that Stormshadow had called up to fight them.

They were doing okay, but he could see that the two of them were beginning to get tired as each B.A.T they took down - two more would take its place.

Stormshadow gave a snort of disgust when he saw his opponent distracted, "I want to fight you with your full concentration, if you can't do that then run away to protect your pathetic students like a coward!"

Even though he knew Stormshadow was taunting him, Snake-eyes didn't say no to the offer and ran off to call a retreat with his students. They'll just have to search for the Autobot some other time.

***

"Are you sure about this?" Asked Mirage.

"Of course I'm sure!" Replied Rocket, "when I stayed here - I made sure I knew this place like the back of my hand, and this is the closes air-vent to the hanger for me to enter the base with."

"Fine, must I wait here for you when you come back?" Mirage looked at the tiny human on his hand busy unscrewing the cover of the air-vent in question.

"No, just wait around the hanger entrance till you see me," Rocket replied as she finally removed the cover and placed it onto Mirages hand.

"I'll see you later then," Mirage said as she disappeared into the dark opening.

***

The ninja team arrived at the location where they had left the Autobots and Rocket. They didn't see Mirage and assumed he was playing around with Rocket.

"Did you find Bumblebee?" Asked Arcee anxiously.

"Didn't get a chance, sorry," replied Jinx.

"We ran into Stormshadow," explained Kamakura.

"You're joking right, about the Stormshadow part?" Arcee asked quietly.

"Nope," said Kamakura, "now Mirage, look visible please so I can get in and we can all go.

Nothing happened.

"He isn't here," Arcee said.

"So, where is he then?" Asked Jinx.

"Um… went off with Rocket to help her sneak into the base because Rocket said you would get caught up fighting Stormshadow," Arcee said this rather fast as if she was trying to get it over and done with as quickly as possible.

"What?" Screeched Jinx, "she was ordered to stay with the car!"

"Hey," interrupted Kamakura, "if you look at it in a certain angle - she _has_ stayed with the car!"

Both Snake-eyes and Jinx hit him on the head.

"Don't be stupid," snapped Jinx, "how are you going to get back to base?"

"On me," replied Arcee, "I can carry two humans you know."

Jinx rolled her eyes, "oh great!"

***

Rocket crawled along the air-vent, getting dust on her sigma suit. She knew that if she stuck to the air-vents and didn't wander around the corridors, she had a much better chance of not being discovered by the enemy.

Didn't mean she had to like it though, and the fans posed a problem - causing her to take detours that was making her route to the hanger longer than it should be.

Pausing to take a breather at a fork in the tunnels, she felt something poke her back.

Rocket jumped and managed to stop herself from giving off a scream. Heart pounding she slowly turned around to see what was in the air-vent with her… and saw….

"Frenzy?"

"Hey! Who are you calling Frenzy! I'm Rumble!" The cassette spat back at her angrily.

"Sorry," Rocket felt a bit bewildered but saw now that if she looked closely she could see this Frenzy clone had blue markings, "you just startled me for a moment."

'Rumble… why did that name sound familiar?' Wondered Rocket to herself before the realisation hit her, "you're _Rumble_! The one Frenzy named the teddy bear after!"

"I just told you my name was Rumble! You deaf or something? Anyway - how do you know about that… that… _thing_ named after me?" Rumble demanded.

"I… er… heard about it on the office grapevine," Rocket gave a fake laugh, knowing that she couldn't tell this Decepticon she was one of the enemy, and one who used to spy in this base, not to mention the one who bought the teddy bear. Rumble didn't sound too happy about it.

But what was Rumble doing on Earth? The only extra Decepticons she knew about were the recently decided to come back to life ones. Well, she was off-duty for quite awhile - maybe the others had forgotten to tell her that there were extra Decepticons on Earth now.

"Office grapevine?" Rumble asked her, confused.

"Oh that, just means rumours floating around the base," explained Rocket, wondering how she was going to get rid of the Cassette so she could carry on sneaking around, "anyway - what are you doing sneaking around the air-vents?"

"I could ask you the same question," replied Rumble suspiciously, "I haven't seen you around the base before."

"Well, I haven't seen you before either," Rocket replied evenly, "but if you really want to know - I'm training… as… um… I'm a spy… so… yeah… sneaking around is my job, so right now I'm doing my training!"

"Right," Rumble didn't look convinced but he accepted it anyway, "I'm bored, so I decided to explore the base."

Rocket sensed there was something extra he wanted to add, "and?" She prompted.

Rumble twitched a bit, he was reluctant to admit this bit to the human, but she could help him, "I'm lost!" He blurted out.

"What?" Rocket thought he was joking.

"It isn't funny - when we crash-landed here, my directional finder got broken and no one has had time to fix it yet!" Rumble gave a slight sniffle.

Rocket felt a bit bad for the tiny Decepticon, she couldn't just leave it wandering around forever and besides - now he wouldn't get suspicious about her heading off to the hanger.

"Then why did you wander around up here if you knew you could get lost?" Asked Rocket.

"Didn't you hear me before? I was bored!" Rumble explained.

"Okay, I assume you want to go back to the hanger right?" Asked Rocket.

Rumble nodded.

"Then I'll take you there then," said Rocket, this gave her free passage into the hanger - where hopefully the only two Decepticons that would recognise her (Barricade and Frenzy) won't be there.

Rocket headed off for the hanger with a happy Rumble following behind her.

***

"Its a pity you let them escape," growled Cobra Commander.

"I apologise my lord," Stormshadow bowed.

"I wonder why those stupid ninjas were here in the first place?" Destro wondered out aloud.

"Isn't it obvious - its because those Decepticons have that Autobot prisoner. I bet the other Autobots asked Sigma 6 to look around to see if their buddy was here," replied Firefly.

"At least they were chased off before they could get near the hanger, you did at least one good thing tonight Stormshadow," said Cobra Commander.

"Thank you," replied Stormshadow, ignoring Zartan mouthing 'suck-up' at him.

For some reason, since he found out Stormshadow had run over his sister, Zartan had been less than friendly towards his fellow colleague.

***

"Here we are," announced Rocket to Rumble.

"Thanks, do you want some energon?" Asked Rumble.

"No thanks, I um don't eat energon," replied Rocket.

"Oh," Rumble looked crestfallen, "I can scare some Troopers into getting you some human food then?"

"I'm not really hungry, thanks all the same," Rocket really didn't want to be served food by Troopers who would recognise her, "I'll just hang around the hanger if that is okay with you?"

"Feel free to hang around then," said Rumble and indicated a hole in the tunnel which he had cut through to get into the air-vent.

"You first," said Rocket, waving him ahead.

She watched Rumble disappear through the hole then wandered over to look through it to see if it was safe to jump down. She wasn't expecting Rumble's hand to grab her and pull her through.

Rocket landed quite painfully on top of Rumble and groaned.

"Sorry about that," Rumble muttered underneath her, "should of asked you first before pulling you through."

"Never mind," Rocket groaned and sat up to look around. There was a metallic cat looking at her.

"That's my older brother Ravage, just ignore him - he tends to be a bit of a stuck-up at times," Rumble said, pointing at the cat, who growled at Rumble's description of him.

Two metal birds and one metal bat fluttered around her head.

"Why is there a puny Earth creature here?" Asked one of the birds.

"These are my younger siblings, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are the two birds and the bat there is Ratbat - the youngest," Rumble pointed to each one as he said their names, "I don't know where Frenzy is though… probably in that human traitor Rocket's quarters again."

Rocket felt her heart jump, "oh really - he goes in that traitor's room a lot does he?"

"Now and again for some reason, its where we Cassettes recharged actually," replied Rumble.

So Cobra had given her old room to the Decepticons?

"Rumble!" Squawked Laserbeak, "you still haven't answered our question!"

"She's a friend I found," Rumble told her, he turned to Rocket, "by the way - I don't think you told me your name?"

Rocket felt her blood freeze, they knew the name Rocket as the name of a traitor, in desperation she thought of a new name for herself, "I'm called Teckor."

"That's Rocket spelt backwards," pointed out Ravage.

'Damn robot cat!' Rocket snarled in her mind, out loud she said, "oh - that's because I'm her replacement you see. Cobra gave me that name to show that I'm the opposite of Rocket."

Ravage didn't look satisfied with her answer, but backed off under Rumble's glare - he did not want to be welded to the floor again!

The other Cassettes begun questioning Rumble on how he found her, giving Rocket a chance to look around the hanger properly.

She saw that they were on the catwalk that ran around the hanger, she strolled to the railings and look around.

She spotted Bumblebee straight away - it wasn't hard to spot one yellow mech amongst all the black Decepticons.

'Mission objective completed, now I just need to get back and report Bumblebee's location,' Rocket thought to herself.

"Teckor!" Rocket jumped when Rumble screamed into her ear.

"What?" She asked rubbing her poor ear.

"Come on," he grab her hand, "I want you to meet my creator Soundwave!"

"What?" Rocket found herself being dragged down to main floor of the hanger.

"Hey Soundwave!" Shouted Rumble - getting everyone in the hanger's attention as he dragged Rocket across to Soundwave, "come meet Teckor!"

Rocket inwardly groaned as she saw several of the Troopers working in the hanger stop what they were doing and stare at her. In the corner of her eye she saw Barricade roll over from where he was recharging in his corner and open his optics to see what Rumble was up to. Rocket saw his optics widen when they locked onto her. Bumblebee was giving her a dumbfounded look, as if to say he couldn't believe what tactics human spies used - as he would never be caught dead doing what she was doing right now.

"Who is this?" Soundwave gazed down at the human Rumble had dragged in front of him.

"This is Teckor - she's like a friend, though I'll make her into a pet if you say so," replied Rumble.

"What?" Shrieked Rocket, "I'm not your pet!"

"I know, I know," whispered Rumble to her, "I'm just saying that so Soundwave doesn't squish you!"

Rocket became aware that there were several more towering mechs above her, turning to look - she saw what looked like three walking jets.

"That's not fair," grumbled Skywarp, "Starscream, if Rumble gets a pet human - why can't I have one?"

"Because I know you Skywarp," replied Starscream, "you'll look after it for the first couple of weeks until you get bored of it and then who has to look after it? Me, that's who!"

"That's not true!" Sulked Skywarp.

"Yes it is," Thundercracker joined in, "remember that giant worm you found once on that desert planet and begged us to keep it as a pet?"

"How was I to know worms were so boring?" Skywarp replied.

"Sometimes I wonder if you were born with a processor?" Starscream snarled, "and besides, its none of our business if Soundwave decides to get his brats a pet - unless of course it turns out later that the pet eats metal and our wings disappear during the night."

"Didn't that already happen once?" Asked Thundercracker.

"Yes," replied Starscream - glaring evilly at Soundwave.

"I've already apologised for that one time Starscream and I have made sure that my Cassettes know not to feed you to their pets again in the future!" Replied Soundwave.

Rocket listened to the conversation going on above her head with a sense of unreality, until she heard something that nearly made her heart stop.

"Rrrocket?"

TBC…


	36. Dancing Among Decepticons

Duke looked up as Kamakura's face appeared on the main screen in the Sea Titan's bridge.

"What's the status of your mission Kamakura?" He asked the ninja student.

"Well, we are on our way back to the Sea Titan, but I have some bad news and some worse news for you," Replied Kamakura.

"Let me hear your bad news then," said Duke.

"The bad news is Stormshadow prevented us from searching for the Autobot," Kamakura told him.

"You know, I was some what expecting that to have had happened - and the worse news?" Asked Duke.

"Well, we kind of lost Rocket," Kamakura gave a sheepish grin under his mask.

"You what?!" Yelled Duke.

***

"Rrrocket?" Asked Frenzy, looking confused.

"Oh…," Said Rocket.

"Rocket?" Repeated Rumble, looking at her strangely.

"Er…," Rocket stepped back slightly.

"Rocket?" Soundwave stared at her, face unreadable.

"So…," Rocket looked around for an escape route.

"Rocket?" Starscream tilted his head at her.

"Um…," no one seemed to be guarding that door over there….

"Rocket!" Grinned Barricade evilly, strolled up rubbing his hands in anticipation.

"Got to go!" Rocket turned and ran.

***

"So you just left her at the base by herself?" Asked Duke, wondering why how he was managing to keep his anger in check.

"No - she has Mirage with her," replied Kamakura, feeling a school boy who hadn't done his homework.

"That's not the point!" Duke nearly yelled, "why didn't you go back in there and drag her out?"

"Sensei wanted to get back to base," Kamakura said.

"That's it! We are all going there now, because knowing her, she has probably turned the whole base upside down," Duke definitely yelled this time.

"All of us?" Asked Scarlett next to him.

"Yes!" Hissed Duke, "and when we get Rocket - I'm going to make sure she won't disobey another order for a very, very long time!"

Hi-tech pitied Rocket when Duke caught up to her.

***

"Sir!" A Trooper yelled up to Destro, "there seems to be a disturbance in the hanger, sir."

"Should we check it out?" Destro turned to Cobra Commander.

"Are there any working cameras in the hanger?" Asked Cobra Commander.

"Only one, but it is facing away from what is going on sir," replied the Trooper.

"Fine then," said Cobra Commander, "send Stormshadow and Firefly with a couple of Troopers to see what is going on."

"Yes my lord," replied Destro.

***

"Catch the squishy!" Yelled Skywarp to Thundercracker as Rocket ran near him.

Unfortunately, for the large Decepticons that is, they were larger than Rocket and so trying to catch her was like trying to catch a rat running around a room with your bare hands.

Rocket easily evaded Thundercracker's grab and ran through Bonecrusher's legs.

The only thing worrying her at that time were the Cassettes, they didn't have the same problem as the larger Decepticons had.

Ravage was on her tail, and he was fast catching up to her. Rocket saw Rumble moving to block her path and a small plan formed in her head. The chances of it working were not good - but how do you know if you don't try?

Rocket didn't move an inch and continued running towards Rumble, that should've given him a clue that something bad was going to happen to him.

Thanking Stormshadow's training for once, Rocket leapt over Rumble, and poor Ravage running at full speed to catch her - couldn't stop in time.

Rocket heard a crash and the sound of falling metal but didn't stop to look back at the accident.

The flying Cassettes squawked above her head and dive-bombed her, she barely managed to dodged out of the way of them when she saw a large metal foot coming towards her.

"Stop trying to catch the thing and just kill it!" Yelled Galvatron - to whom the foot belong to.

Rocket growled and moved away from the foot of death.

'If that's the way you want to play,' she snarled to herself, and took from her belt a small laser that she used to cut holes in air-vents if she had to.

Turning it on, the laser only came to be a few centimetres long, but it could work like a knife.

The next foot that came near her, belonging to Starscream, got sliced near the ankle joint as Rocket ran away from it.

Starscream went down on one knee, clutching at his foot, "that slagging pit creature cut me! Don't kill it - I want to torture it now!"

***

Bumblebee sat watching as the small human ran around dodging the Decepticons, wondering if she had a death wish.

He would've come to her aid, if it wasn't for the fact that Blackout was pointing his weapon at Bumblebee's head to prevent the Autobot from doing so.

If he had any, he would have been biting his fingernails in terror as Rocket started dodging feet intent on squishing her.

He gave a small cheer as she started slicing back with her small laser, and got a growl from Blackout for doing so.

***

Rocket had no idea how she was going to get out of this mess. She wished she had borrowed a few grenades from Tunnel Rat before she had left - but of course, she wasn't on active duty and he would've asked questions. Still, grenades would be handy around about now.

She twisted and ducked, sending Laserbeak crashing into the floor as she missed Rocket.

Rocket turned and ran in the opposite direction, dragging her laser across Soundwave's leg as she passed him.

The majority of the Decepticons were limping slightly by this point.

***

Mirage stood invisible outside the hanger doors, his head against the door listening to what was going on.

It sounded as if the human had gotten herself into trouble, should he bash the door down and come to her aid, or should he send for backup and wait until they arrived?

Knowing the amount of Decepticons inside the hanger, the waiting bit sounded like the best plan - but he wasn't sure if Rocket could wait that long for help to arrive.

Deciding to combine the two plans together slightly, Mirage sent a distress signal to the Autobots - then he blew a hole in the door.

***

Bumblebee stared at the hole that appeared in the door - there was no one standing around to accept responsibility for the act.

Debris rained down around the hanger, the dust making it slightly hard for Rocket to breath.

A few of the Decepticons paused in their human hunt to stare at the door as well, until a sharp pain by their foot reminded them of their revenge.

Mirage stepped into the hanger and took in the scene before him. There was Bumblebee with Blackout threatening him with a gun - and then there was little Rocket playing tag with Decepticons. If the Decepticons weren't so set on killing Rocket, Mirage might have laughed at the scene.

First things first, Mirage made his way towards Blackout.

***

"Prime, we have received a distress signal from Mirage," Prowl said to Optimus over his comm-link.

"Do you know where the signal is originating from?" Asked Optimus, concerned.

"It is coming from the Cobra base, the one where all the Decepticons decided to hole up in," replied Prowl.

"Get a team ready, we are heading out!" Ordered Optimus.

"Yes sir!" Prowl answered and signed off.

***

One minute Blackout was standing over him, the next he was lying next to him in statis- lock. Bumblebee stared at the unconscious mech in surprise.

"Quit day-dreaming Bee," whispered Mirage next to him, "we have to help out the human!"

Bumblebee nearly jumped out of his armour when Mirage whispered into his auditory receptor.

"Mirage? What are you doing here?" Bumblebee asked in confusion.

"I'm here with the human - looking for you!" Replied Mirage.

"Oh right," said Bumblebee, and he turned to see how Rocket was faring.

She was currently dodging both Devastator and Galvatron at the same time.

"So that's Galvatron?" Mirage asked next to him.

"Yes," replied Bumblebee.

"Looks even uglier than Megatron was," commented Mirage.

Bumblebee stifled a laugh.

***

"They are sure making a racket," said Firefly to Stormshadow as they neared the hanger.

"Whatever," muttered Stormshadow and he opened the door leading into the hanger.

The two of them stood and stared at the scene before them for a few minutes.

They saw a hole mysteriously get blown into the main hanger doors, the Decepticon next to the yellow Autobot mysteriously fall asleep in the middle of a battle and most mysteriously of all - they saw Rocket.

"Hey, didn't you kill her last month?" Asked Firefly.

TBC…


	37. Ghosts Of The Past

"Hey, didn't you kill her last month?" Asked Firefly.

"I left her bleeding to death, yes," answered Stormshadow.

The two of them continued to stare at Rocket.

***

"What's our ETA Hi-tech?" Asked Duke as they travelled towards the Cobra base.

"Another fifteen minutes Duke till we get there," Hi-tech replied after checking their progress on his computer.

"I hope she hasn't gotten into any trouble," said Stone feeling slightly worried.

"Don't worry about Rocket, she knows better to tangle with the enemy when she is outnumbered," Scarlett assured him, "she is probably just holed up somewhere waiting quietly for us to show up."

"Are you sure about that Scarlett?" Asked Tunnel Rat.

"Of course, she isn't like you TR," answered Scarlett.

***

"Autobots roll out!" Yelled Optimus as he started moving forward.

"Finally! I get to blast some Decepticons!" Gushed Chromia happily.

"Not if I get to them first," Ironhide teased her.

"No way - I get first dibs!" Yelled back Chromia, "I haven't had a chance to shoot a Decepticreep since landing here!"

Prowl uttered a small sigh to himself as he listened to the two of them bickering with each other.

***

Rocket tripped and Starscream saw his chance and raised his foot and took aim. He wasn't expecting, however, for Bumblebee to jump onto his back and start hitting his head with his fists.

"Argh! Get this slagging insect off me!" Starscream screeched as he tried to claw Bumblebee off his back.

Thundercracker and Skywarp turned to help him, when Skywarp tripped over something invisible and went crashing into Thundercracker. They both hit the floor with a loud crash.

Thundercracker pushed Skywarp angrily, "get off me you moron!"

Skywarp staggered to his feet and reached down to help Thundercracker up. The other Seeker grudgingly accepted his help.

Thundercracker was about to turn back to Bumblebee and Starscream when he felt a pair of hands on his back - pushing him into Skywarp. The two of them hit the floor again.

This time it was Skywarp pushing Thundercracker off himself angrily.

"Stop fooling around you two - and _help me_!" Starscream yelled at them.

Mirage gave a silent snigger and continued to hamper the two Seekers.

***

"You know," Firefly turned to Stormshadow, "once Cobra Commander finds out Rocket didn't die - you might be let out of the doghouse."

Stormshadow considered that point, Cobra Commander did want Rocket's odd ability to sense power stones and he was pretty angry when Stormshadow "killed" her.

"We need to get these Decepticons to stop trying to kill her," Stormshadow said to Firefly.

"True - but do you have any suggestions?" Asked Firefly, "they looked like they really want to kill her at the moment and I really don't want to get in their way."

"We need to find something to stop them," replied Stormshadow.

"Like what?" Firefly enquired, "I don't think Overkill's ostrich feather is going to do the trick this time."

"Overkill," A light-bulb went off metaphorically in Stormshadow's head, "we ask him how to stop them without killing them."

"Good luck with that," said Firefly, "he was having another of his 'stupid organics I have to work with' fits today."

Stormshadow said nothing but quietly drew out his katana before turning towards Overkill's lab with an evil glint in his eye.

Firefly almost felt sorry for his cyborg colleague.

***

Rocket was getting tired, she wasn't sure how long she would be able to keep up with evading the Decepticons. Seeing Frenzy head her way, she changed direction and whacked into something solid and invisible.

"Mirage! Watch where you stand when others can't see you!" She snarled as quietly as she could to the general emptiness around her.

"Sorry about that, you didn't hurt yourself when you ran into my fender did you?" Mirage's concerned voice floated to her.

"Oh no, getting bloody noses is natural for humans!" Rocket snapped back, not in the mood to be overly friendly with anyone at the moment.

"You're getting tired - get in," Mirage overlooked her bad mood.

Rocket felt a door edge nudge into her side, feeling around for it she guided herself by touch into Mirage.

"Squishy vanished!" Yelled Rumble.

Then he got knocked over by nothing.

"It's that Autobot spy Mirage!" Yelled Galvatron angrily.

"What do we do?" Asked Devastator.

"Soundwave - can't you scan for him or some thing?" Demanded Galvatron.

"Negative," replied Soundwave.

"All right then! Everyone just blast away - we might just hit him!" Ordered Galvatron with an evil smirk.

The Decepticons, with the exception of the three Seekers who were still dealing with Bumblebee who was hanging onto Starscream like a barnacle stuck to a rock, begun drawing out their guns.

***

Firefly started to get worried as he saw the weapons warming up, when he saw Stormshadow return with two Troopers carrying something behind him.

"It's a EMP, don't know how effective it will be on them - but it was the only thing that Overkill had ready in his lab," Stormshadow said to Firefly's enquiring look.

The two Troopers begun setting the EMP up, while the Decepticons begun taking pot shots at everything and anything.

***

The room shook.

"Vat is going up dere?" Baroness asked as she steadied her cup of tea.

"That's what I sent Firefly and Stormshadow to find out, but they haven't reported back yet," replied Cobra Commander.

Some plaster from the ceiling drifted down when the room shook again.

"Well, I wish they would hurry up and put a stop to whatever is going on," remarked Destro, wiping some of the plaster off his shoulder, "or our base might fall down around our heads!"

***

"Ow! Watch where you're aiming you slagger!" Bonecrusher shouted at Devastator.

Devastator merely ignored him and continued firing randomly.

"Get him off! Get him off!" Starscream ran past the other Decepticons with Thundercracker and Skywarp trailing behind.

Secretly, the two Seekers wanted to join in with blasting everything - it looked like fun, but they knew their loyalty was to their fellow Seeker.

***

"It's ready sir," one of the Troopers said to Stormshadow.

"Good, activate it," Stormshadow replied.

"Yes sir!" The Trooper turned to the EMP and flicked the on switch.

"Hey, this isn't damaging to us is it?" Firefly suddenly asked worriedly.

"Not unless you are made up of electronics," Stormshadow said back.

"Ah, good," Firefly watched as lights begun turning from red to green on the EMP, when the last light changed, the device sent out a shockwave affecting all electronics nearby.

The Transformers paused, the visible ones looked at each other confusedly and then they all dropped like stones.

***

"Good, they've finally stopped," Baroness glared at her tea, it had debris floating in it, she turned and yelled at a Trooper to fetch her a fresh cup.

"Perhaps now we will find out soon about what was going on," said Destro.

"I hope those Decepticons didn't decide to turn on us," Zartan added to the conversation.

"They don't have the guts to do so," sneered Cobra Commander.

"Well, of course they don't - they're robots," Torch informed their leader.

"It's a figure of speech you idiot," Machete elbowed his fellow Dreadnok in the ribs, while Cobra Commander gave them a death glare.

***

"Mirage? Are you all right?" Rocket asked the Autobot when he stopped moving.

Rocket poked his dashboard, then gave a frightened squeal as he begun to transform. She barely managed to make it out in time before he finished and became visible.

He's transformation was a self-defence mechanism built in, so that medics could easily fix him if he was injured.

Rocket cast a glance around the hanger, mechs lay scattered around on the floor. Starscream would've have been happy if he had been awake - Bumblebee had finally let go.

"So, what do we have here? A ghost come back to haunt us?" A mocking voice called down to her.

She looked up the catwalk and saw Firefly and Stormshadow looking down at her.

Stormshadow was frowning as usual, while Firefly's face held a jeering grin.

Rocket stepped back slightly from them, out the corner of her eye, she could see Troopers filing into the hanger.

"What? No thanks for saving your life from those mean Decepticons?" Firefly asked, pretending to sound hurt.

"Why should I thank you, creep?" Asked Rocket.

"If it wasn't for us setting off this EMP, you would be nothing more than a dirty stain on the bottom of a Decepticon foot right now," replied Firefly with a smirk.

The Troopers surrounded Rocket, she glared at them.

"Cobra Commander was actually quite angry with me, when I tried to kill you," Stormshadow told her.

"Why? Because he wanted to kill the spy himself?" Rocket asked.

"No, he was angry as he thought his power stone sensor was dead," replied Stormshadow.

"And imagine how happy he's going to be when he finds out you aren't really dead," cackled Firefly.

***

"Bastards!" Snarled Scarlett angrily, where she was hiding by the hole in the hanger door and eavesdropping.

"Scarlett! Language!" Admonished Duke, feeling slightly shocked by her outburst.

"Don't worry - Rocket won't be in any trouble at all!" Tunnel Rat said sarcastically, mocking Scarlett's earlier words.

"Okay, so I was slightly wrong, but still - they want to use her to find power stones," snapped back Scarlett.

"I know, and that is why we are going in there to get her out," said Duke.

"What about Mirage and Bumblebee?" Asked Arcee, who had joined them on the mission.

"I don't know - its not like we can carry the two of them, even _you_ would have trouble with that!" Replied Duke.

"And that's why we are here!" Burst in Hot Shot.

Arcee and the humans jumped in shock.

"How did you get here?" Asked Heavy Duty, trying to work out how a giant robot could sneak up on them.

"I walked, naturally," replied Hot Shot with a grin as the other Autobots walked up sneakily.

"So what's the plan here amigos?" Asked Long Range.

"Simply - we go in and get our guys out," answered Duke, "that sound right to you Prime?"

"Yes, that sounds like a good plan," Optimus agreed and started warming up his cannon.

Behind him, Ironhide gave an evil grin and did the same with his cannons.

"Cobra Commander, have we got a treat for you!" Firefly announced as his face appeared on

the big screen in the throne room.

"Hurry up and spill it, I don't have time for your games Firefly," growled Cobra Commander.

'Yes you do, you have all the time in the world as all you do is sit on that throne doing nothing all day!' Destro thought to himself rebelliously.

"We found the Decepticons trying to exterminate a rat running around the hanger, but we thought you might prefer the rat alive," Firefly gave a grin.

"Big scary Decepticons are afraid of little itty bitty rats!" Laughed Buzzer, who was a bit slow in grasping the meaning of things if they weren't laid out in a simple manner.

Cobra Commander ignored him, "so who is this rat then?"

Firefly's grin grew, "a ghost."

"A ghost?" Cobra Commander frowned, "what did I say about games Firefly?"

"That you didn't have time for them," Firefly deflated a little and was shoved out of the way by Stormshadow who took his place on the screen.

"What have you found Stormshadow?" Cobra Commander asked him.

"Some one I killed," Stormshadow replied enigmatically and pointed the camera towards Rocket.

"A ghost!" Screamed the Dreadnoks in terror, while the Baroness choked on her tea.

"Impossible," breathed Destro.

Cobra Commander gave an evil chuckle, "well done you two!"

TBC…


	38. In Which The Hanger Doors Say Goodbye

"Well, this sucks," Rocket muttered mournfully as she stared at those surrounding her.

The worst face she was looking at, wasn't actually in the same room as herself physically. It came courtesy of a large video screen.

Cobra Commander, to whom the face belonged to, chuckled evilly.

"Well, well, look who decided to come back!" He sneered.

Rocket resisted the urge to throw the video screen a rude hand sign.

"I didn't come back here to visit your ugly face idiot, so don't look so happy," she snapped back at him.

"Oh, doesn't look like she is happy to see all her old colleagues," Firefly snickered.

Rocket weighed her options – there were Troopers everywhere surrounding her. Her only allies were lying on the floor – out for the count for the time being.

'I seriously hope that Arcee and the ninjas have gotten back to the base by now and told Duke about my disobeying of orders – and that he is pissed off enough to come after me,' Rocket thought to herself, 'barring that, lets hope that Mirage decided to let the Autobots know about the situation before charging in here to help out.'

"There is not much you can do to escape Rocket," said Destro, appearing over Cobra Commander's shoulder with a smug look on his face.

"No, there isn't much that I can do by myself," agreed Rocket.

***

"So they have her cornered like a rat," observed Stone.

"How do you want to go about getting our lot out of there?" Asked Ironhide, "as I am all for blowing the place up."

"We can't do that Ironhide," corrected Prowl, "we might harm the humans in there."

"But they're the bad guys!" Ironhide protested.

"Human bad guys," pointed out Optimus.

"So you guys don't like hurting humans?" Asked Tunnel Rat curiously.

"It's Optimus who doesn't like it – not me," grumbled Ironhide.

He ignored the warning glare Optimus shot at him.

"So how about you guys look all menacing, while we attack the snakes?" Asked Scarlett.

"Not much else that we can do," Landmine replied, while Ironhide snorted behind him.

"Seeing as all the Decepticons are recharging," concluded Prowl.

"So, are we all decided then?" Enquired Duke, "we charge in, the Autobots look menacing and we get our guys and get the hell out of there?"

"But I wanted to destroy something," whined Chromia, while Ironhide nodded in agreement behind her.

"Don't worry you two, I'm sure Cobra will call up their B.A.T.S as soon as they see us. You'll be able to destroy as many as those as you like," Stone consoled the two of them.

"But they are just mindless drones," Ironhide began to complain but stopped with another glare from Optimus.

"So, we charged in, in ten minutes?" Asked Duke.

The others nodded in agreement.

***

Bumblebee felt odd, he couldn't move and he couldn't see. He could however feel the cold floor he was lying on and his hearing was unaffected.

'So my optics are fused – Mirage's must be as well, Ratchet is going to blow a gasket when we get back. Two gaskets if he has to fix our gears so that we can move again,' Bumblebee thought to himself mournfully, 'odd place this planet is – power lines to shock, energy blasts from power stones to make you act funny and now this odd blast to make you immobile. Odd, odd planet!'

Ratchet was going to kill him and Mirage – he just knew it.

Galvatron was angry, the humans had dared to use a weapon on him and he had dropped like a stone.

'Fragging humans!' He snarled to himself.

Those insignificant humans now knew that they had some power over him, and Galvatron hated it when someone else could threaten him with a weakness.

'Fragging pit-sprawned creatures!' He threatened, 'I'll crush you all!'

***

"So are you just going to stand there gloating all night – or are you going to do something about me?" Rocket asked Cobra Commander while arching an eyebrow at him.

"I'm allowed to gloat – its not often that you capture a _ghost_ ," he answered back with a slight smirk, "but if you insist – I'll have a couple Troopers escort you to a nice cosy cell."

Destro raised an arm to command some Troopers to follow Cobra Commander's order, however, half way through the arm raise – what was left of the hanger doors blew up.

"Oh great, more Sigma's," sighed Firefly.

***

Tunnel Rat attached the last of his bombs to the hanger door – then ran like hell.

The explosion was helped in part by Ironhide and Chromia getting bored and blasting their cannons at the door. The final result was no more hanger door, as well as a bit of the roof and the left wall.

Once the smoke had cleared away a bit – the Autobots and Sigma 6 could see the slightly charred and sooty occupants of the hanger. The screen which Cobra Commander was being shown on, now featured a white snowy effect. This left Firefly and Stormshadow in charge of the hanger.

"Troopers!" Firefly spluttered and coughed on the ash floating in the air, "attack!"

The Troopers however, were too busy trying to clean the soot off their helmet visors to attack anything at that point in time, a fact that Rocket was using to her advantage.

Rocket finished knocking out her third Trooper when she sensed an attack coming in from her left. She managed to dodge it in time, and rolling away – saw it was Stormshadow's katana that had been aimed at her.

"Again?" She asked Stormshadow as he stepped out of the swirling smoke.

He didn't deign to answer her, just continued to walk up to where she was crouching on the ground.

'I can't fight against him,' Rocket thought, 'not after all of that running around earlier – I'm out of breath, unfit from a month of inactivity and my wound is starting to hurt like hell.'

Subconsciously, Rocket placed a hand on her chest, as she continued to watch Stormshadow stalk towards her.

***

"Charge!" Duke yelled and ran into the hanger with the rest of his team hot on his heels. Cobra Troopers in their way were knocked down like skittles.

Growling, Firefly gave an order to deploy the B.A.T.s to the hanger for reinforcements.

Snake-eyes lost no time in seeking out his nemises, and blocked a blow meant for Rocket with his own katana.

"So brother, you're here to meet your death!" Stormshadow snarled before launching an attack.

"Doesn't he ever get tired of saying the same old thing every time he sees sensei?" Asked Kamakura rhetorically as he and Jinx appeared next to Rocket.

Jinx shook her head, "don't you ever get tired of asking that question every time?" She asked her fellow student.

Kamakura shrugged and bent down to help Rocket stand.

"Before you even start on the thanks for coming to rescue you," Kamakura started when Rocket opened her mouth, "just know that Duke is super pissed off with you."

"Yeah, the only reason he came to get you was so that he could punish you!" Added Jinx.

"I don't suppose that I could ask you guys to leave me here then? I'd rather face Cobra Commander's ugly mask than Duke in a temper!" Rocket tried.

"Nope, we got strict orders to bring you in!" Kamakura replied, with the slightest hint of a smirk under his mask.

"You two are enjoying this aren't you?" Rocket accused them.

"Well, it's not that often that we see Duke in such a bad mood, so we might as well enjoy the show while we can," Jinx told her.

"And be happy that his anger isn't directed at us!" Kamakura stated happily.

***

"What is going on up there?" Shrieked Cobra Commander furiously.

"I don't know sir, all the camera's were knocked out in the explosion!" Destro replied.

"Get up there and do something – all of you!" Cobra Commander yelled at all who were in the throne room.

"Yes sir," a chorus replied to him.

***

"So, where are these B.A.T.s that we are allowed to blow up?" Asked Chromia, "all I see is stupid Decepticons taking a nap in the middle of a battlefield!"

"I'm sure that they'll arrive soon," Prowl replied, his voice a bit muffled as he was bent over – busy dragging Mirage out of the hanger by his arms, "a little help here?"

Hotshot ran to help and grabbed Mirage's legs and the two of them carried Mirage out.

"Just dump him over here," Ratchet ordered, "he's out so I doubt he'll feel the bumps and dents he'll get till later."

"No!" Screamed a mute Mirage silently in his mind, "I can feel them now – don't drop me!"

Ironhide and Red Alert deposited Bumblebee next to Mirage a few seconds later.

"I wonder how long these two are going to be out of it?" Optimus wondered out loud.

"I don't know – I need to do some research on whatever it was that the humans used on them." Replied Ratchet, "speaking of which, let me go do some asking!"

Optimus watched as Ratchet made his way into the hanger and picked up one of the humans at random and start to bark questions at it.

"Did he ever have a bedside manner?" Asked Elita beside Optimus.

"If he does – I've never seen it!" Replied Optimus.

Elita shook her head as she carried on watching Ratchet interrogate the Trooper.

***

Overlord Vector came online as its new mission was programmed into it. Now it could have some fun destroying those attacking Cobra, alongside its fellow Overlords.

So much fun indeed.

TBC


	39. Ironhide and Chromia vs the Overlords

"Hey, is it just me, or is this floor starting to tremble?" Tunnel Rat asked as he threw a grenade at Firefly's direction.

"It is, kind of," agreed Heavy Duty as he stumbled a bit.

"What is making it shake so much?" Tunnel Rat lost his balance and hit the ground.

"I don't know but it can't be for any thing good!" Heavy Duty joined him on the floor.

The vibrations started getting worse – to the point that the floor was starting to crack in several places.

"This isn't good!" Duke yelled, "everybody start falling back!"

Tunnel Rat got to his feet and began to run in the direction of the exit, only before he could get there – Overlord Vector burst through the floor and stared at him.

"Oh man! I'm not liking this at all!" Tunnel Rat wailed as he turned and ran in the opposite direction.

***

"Prime! Can we attack that?" Ironhide asked eagerly as he pointed to Vector, and the other two Overlords as they rose up beside it.

"I think, Ironhide, that that would be an affimative," Optimus replied, to Ironhides and Chromia's whoops of joy.

"About slagging time!" Chromia yelled as she began to charge her cannons, "I was beginning to think that we came here for nothing!"

She followed Ironhide, running into the hanger, as he took on Vector – she launched herself as Virus. The four of the rolled across the hanger, scattering humans who were in the way.

"Don't hurt the humans!" Prowl yelled at them as he too ran into the hanger.

Optimus sighed and turned his attention to the problem of how to get Bumblebee and Mirage back to the Autobot base.

"I think that if I transformed, the rest of you could load them into my trailor?" He said, waving an arm over the two immobile Autobots.

"It's worth a try," mused Wheeljack, "I'll just have to try and make them transform back into their alt-modes to make the job easier."

"Well, get on with it then," Red Alert told him.

***

"Duke, I think we should start getting out of here," Scarlett called to him.

"Start pulling back, while the Autobots keep the B.A.T.S distracted," Duke called back to her.

"Understood," Scarlett turned to let the rest of the team know the plan.

"Kamakura! You don't need to carry me!" Rocket screamed at the ninja as he threw her over his shoulder.

"It's quicker this way!" He yelled back at her, and taking no more notice of her yells of protest began to run out of the hanger followed by Jinx.

"Make your way back to the R.O.C.C," Scarlett told them as she ran past on her way to the rest of the team.

***

Galvatron mentally growled and tried to twitch a finger, it did... for half a centimetre. But, half a centimetre is something and it meant he was beginning to gain mobility – so he continued trying to twitch his fingers in the hope that his hand would be twitching soon as well.

***

"Okay," Wheeljack stood up, "I've got them into their alt-modes, all we need to do now is place them inside of Prime's trailor.

Hotshot and Landmine picked up Bumblebee, and began to move him over to where Optimus was waiting. Red Alert and Wheeljack did the same for Mirage.

'This is so embarrassing!' Mirage thought as he was placed into the trailor, 'next time – I will wait for backup before I charge in!'

"All loaded and ready for transport," Red Alert informed Optimus.

"Tell the others, that they are to finish off those B.A.T.S and fall back," Optimus ordered Red Alert.

"Will do, sir," Red Alert made his way towards the hanger.

Ironhide ripped off one of Vector's legs and 'unintentially' dropped it onto Barricade who was lying a few metres away from him. He was having fun, even if it was against mindless drones, it was still fun. Though he did wish at least one of the Decepticons would get up and challenge him. Now that would make the evening truly fun!

"Hurry up with those B.A.T.S, Prime has ordered us to fall back!" Red Alert called to him over the noise of Chromia bashing Virus into the ground.

"Do we have too?" Ironhide called back, "but we are having some fun over here!"

"Now Ironhide!" Commanded Prowl as he threw his offlined Overlord at Starscream.

"You bots are no fun – you know that?" Chromia sulked as she dropped the pieces of Victor that she was holding onto Blackout.

"Fine, we are coming," Ironhide ripped off Vector's head and threw it at Galvatron, if he had been paying a little bit more attention, he would have noticed Galvatron's hand clench in anger.

Chromia stood on Devastator's fingers as she walked out past him, while Ironhide accidently kicked Soundwave in the side as he walked past.

"Will you stop doing that!" Yelled Prowl at them.

"What? We can't help it that they are lying all over the ground," Chromia said defensively, "its hard to dodge all of them!"

"Yeah!" Ironhide agreed.

Prowl sighed and shook his head as he followed them out.

His thoughts were inturrupted by one of the Cobra humans throwing pieces of rubble at his leg. Prowl turned to stare at the human.

It was Firefly, he picked up another rock and threw it, "you scrap heaps! Don't you dare think you can barge in here, ruin our base and then happily waltz out again!"

"Human, its just you against me, who do you think is going to win this round?" Prowl asked Firefly as another stone bounced harmlessly off him.

Firefly halted and began to think out his mode of action, decided he was being an idiot and ran away to the Subterrean base.

"Stupid human," Prowl muttered as he carried on walking out.

"If it was me, I would have stepped on him!" Ironhide commented.

"Yes, but I am not you am I?" Replied Prowl.

***

"What is going on up there?" Screeched Cobra Commander, "are we winning or what?"

"We deployed the Overlords a while ago, from the sounds of it – the Overlords must have been ripping them apart!" Destro said smugly.

"Are you sure?" Cobra Commander demanded.

"Well, er, I'm pretty sure that is the case," Destro replied, though not feeling too sure about his current situation.

Cobra Commander was about to make a scathing remark when he was interrupted by the throne room doors being flung open and Firefly running into the room.

"We're losing!" Firefly screamed.

Destro felt Cobra Commander's glare on him.

"Ripping them apart are we?" Hissed Cobra Commander angrily.

***

"Is everyone accounted for?" Enquired Duke, back at the R.O.C.C.

"Everyone but Snake Eyes," Replied Scarlett.

"Last we saw him, he was busy fighting Stormshadow," Jinx said, trying to be helpful.

"So, in other words, we can expect him to come limping back onto the Sea Titan in about an hour or two's time?" Duke asked rhetorically.

"Pretty much," put in Scarlett.

"Okay, lets get on back to Sea Titan," Duke turned to Rocket, "and you and I are going to be having a private little chat when we get back!" He gave an evil little grin.

Rocket felt a shiver run down her spine, and tried to ignore the sensations of doom she was feeling.

***

Snake Eyes threw Stormshadow into a rock. Somehow, in the course of their battle they had ended up quite some way away from the hanger.

Stormshadow gave a groan but other than that did not get up. Snake Eyes wasn't feeling too good himself, and was glad that StormShadow was finally down for the count.

Snake Eyes turned and began limping back to where he had left his ninja bike, at least he didn't have to walk all the way back to Sea Titan.

"Brother," Stormshadow called weakly from where he was lying, Snake Eyes paused, "you may have won this battle – but next time I'll defeat you!"

Giving a shrug, Snake Eyes decided to ignore and carry on back to his ninja bike.

"Brother! Are you even listening to me? Brother! Brother! Er... Brother?"

***

Galvatron's optics slowly onlined, and he groaned a bit at the bright light in the hanger. Someone or something was going to pay for making him feel like slag. Slowly he tested his locomotion skills and discovered that he could move freely now. He rose to his feet and spotted Starscream still lying on the ground. He walked over and lifted his leg and kicked Starscream across the hanger, at least now he felt a little better for taking his anger out on something.

Starscream gave a yelp as he flew across the hanger, he had decided to go into recharge while he waiting for the EMP effect to wear off – he was not expecting a wake up call like he had just received.

The other Decepticons, alerted by Starscream's yelp began to get up themselves. Several of them nursing dents they had gotten 'accidently' from the Autobots fighting the Overlords.

"Why did you do that mighty Galvatron?" Starscream demanded as he picked himself up.

"Because I don't like you," Galvatron replied smugly.

"What did those humans hit us with?" Thundercracker asked, as he dusted off his wings.

"Something I intend squishing out of them till they tell me!" Replied Galvatron, "those humans have a lot to answer for!"

"The Autobots have taken back their yellow insect," Blackout informed the others.

"That's of no consequence, not like it had anything we wanted," Galvatron said, as he turned to go Cobra hunting.

"They really didn't want us killing Frenzy's pet," commented Rumble.

"It was just one human, maybe they are too soft to kill other humans," Skywarp said.

"One human who they thought they had killed," Barricade said to no one in particular, "I remember that they were angry when they thought she had been killed, something about wanting to use her to track down power stones or something stupid like that."

"What are power stones?" Asked Starscream curiously.

"Some sort of stone that can be used as a power source, and causes a huge explosion of energy when destroyed," replied Barricade.

"A power source? Could we use it for energon?" Starscream asked.

"I don't know – maybe you could find one and try it out?" Barricade told him.

"Huge explosion of energy?" Soundwave said, "does this energy do anything?"

"The only time I saw it – it gave that Autobot Hotshot a huge power boost for awhile," replied Barricade.

"Power boost?" Galvatron entered the conservation, "enough for us to get rid of those Autoscum for good?"

"I don't know," Barricade said.

"We must find some of these stones and experiment on them!" Starscream said eager to get his hands on anything that would give him more power.

"Indeed, but first, we need to have a little chat with Cobra Commander," Galvatron said with a hint of evil in his tone.

Cobra Commander had a slight premonition that something bad was going to happen to him shortly, and it look like the rest of his henchmen had had the same feeling, the way they suddenly paled like ghosts.

TBC...


	40. Explanations, Plans and Punishment

"An EMP you say?" Galvatron hissed at Cobra Commander, "and what gave you the idea that knocking out your allies was a good thing?"

"It wasn't my idea," hissed back Cobra Commander, "it was my men using their initiative! If they hadn't done it – you would've killed Rocket!"

"What is so important about this fleshling anyway? That you don't want her dead?" Asked Galvatron.

"She can sense power stones, something which I find to be a very valuable trait to have in one's possession," replied Cobra Commander.

"What are power stones supposed to be anyway?" Asked Galvatron.

"They are special stones which hold incredible power within them, we at Cobra use them to power up a few of our... projects," Cobra Commander explained to him.

"These stones are important enough for you to attack us Decepticons? I wish to see one, to see what it is capable of!" Galvatron demanded.

"Unfortunately we don't have any in our possession at the moment," answered Cobra Commander, "which is why we were trying to stop you from killing Rocket. It would be nice to have someone who can sense the stones under our power."

Galvatron growled at Cobra Commander's answer, "this Rocket is allied to the Autobots, the Decepticons will kill any friends of the Autobots that they find, however, if you give us something in return – we might rethink about killing Rocket?"

"How about half of Earth when we finally take it over?" Bargained Cobra Commander.

"I thought we had already agreed upon that when we joined forces?" Questioned Galvatron.

"No, no – what we had agreed upon was mutual firepower to destroy our enemies," reminded Cobra Commander.

"Fine, half of Earth and a percentage of any power stones found," said Galvatron.

"Why do you want power stones, a minute ago you didn't even know what they were!" snarled Cobra Commander angrily.

"If you want them so badly – they must be worth something, therefore I want them as well," Galvatron replied smugly.

"I'll give you 20 percent of any power stones we find. Deal?" Cobra Commader said.

"20 percent isn't a lot, but I'll accept it for now," said Galvatron accepting the offer.

Cobra Commander scowled under his mask as he watched Galvatron stalk out of the throne room. He was going to have to have a little private chat with Overkill sometime about building something capable of killing Decepticons.

 

***

"Rocket you are lucky that I'm not putting you on court martial for disobeying orders!"

"Yes sir."

"Are you on active duty?"

"No sir."

"Did I or did I not order you to stay outside the Cobra base?

"You did sir."

"And what did you do?"

"I entered the Cobra base sir."

"What are you two doing?"

Heavy Duty and Tunnel Rat jumped when they heard Scarlett behind them. Smiling innocent, they turned round to look at her.

"I'll ask you guys again, what are you two doing?" Scarlett repeated her question.

"Nothing Scarlett, honestly!" Answered Tunnel Rat.

"Really, because it looked like you two were eavesdropping on Duke's conversation with Rocket," Scarlett said while glaring at them.

"No Scarlett, uh... the reason why TR and I are er... on the floor by the door here is because... um... I lost my contact lens!" Heavy Duty replied.

"I didn't know you wore contacts HD, I thought had passed your eye test with 20/20 vision?" Scarlett asked.

"Forget it HD, lets just start running now!" Tunnel Rat yelled as he jumped up and ran away from Duke's office.

Heavy Duty watched him run away before turning back to Scarlett and saw that her glare had intensified, "Sorry Scarlett, you heard TR – gotta run!"

Scarlett gave a small sigh and decided to keep watch for any other potential eavesdroppers.

***

"So that's how Starscream captured you?" Optimus looked at the small yellow Autobot who nodded back at him.

"We are going to have to check on Jazz's tomb to see if he has done any damage to it," said Ironhide.

"I agree, no knowing what kind of damage a Decepticon could do if he had the chance," Ratchet added.

The four Autobots were in Optimus's office, debriefing Bumblebee after his rescue from the Decepticons.

"I'll get a team to go check it out this afternoon," said Optimus.

"What I want to know is what kind of weapon did the Cobra's use on Bumblebe and Mirage to make them shut down like that?" Asked Ratchet.

"Whatever it is, please note that if they do use it again – mechs caught by it can still feel everything happening to them," Bumblebee said as he rubbed a dent on his arm.

"How many times do we have to apologise to you and Mirage about that? We had no time to be gentle!" Countered Ratchet.

"Whatever it was, they hit the Decepticons with it as well – showing that their little alliance might not be as happy as they want us all to think," put in Ironhide, as Bumblebee was about to give Ratchet a retort.

"I had thought, that with the Allspark gone, that most of our troubles would be halved," Optimus sighed sadly.

"No one could have foreseen that Megatron would rise from the dead and start calling himself 'Galvatron'," Ratchet said.

"Did you really think that we would have a peaceful life?" Scoffed Ironhide, "trouble follows us everywhere we go."

Optimus just gave another sigh.

***

"So do you think Galvatron has squished the human yet?" Skywarp asked excitedly, from where he was sitting on the floor in the hanger.

"Don't be an idiot," Starscream replied, he was trying to solder a rip on his leg which he had gotten the night before.

"We lost our Autobot prisoner," Devastator pointed out.

"And what would we have done with it anyway?" Asked Blackout.

"Torture it a bit when we got bored?" Devastator replied.

"Oh right, that," Blackout nodded in agreement.

"Well I'm bored now," Thundercracker said from his spot in the hanger.

"Why don't we go scare some humans?" Skywarp jumped up, eager to go.

"No," Starscream told him blankly.

"Why not? It'll be fun!" Skywarp tried a Transformer's version of puppy eyes on Starscream.

"Because Galvatron will return, find you missing, blame me and I really don't feel like feeling pain at the moment," replied Starscream.

"You're no fun, you know that!" Snarled Skywarp before he went to go sulk in a corner.

Soundwave noticed that his Cassettes were huddled together in another corner, when they did this it didn't usually bode well for anyone else.

"Hey Soundwave," called out Barricade.

Soundwave turned and looked at him, "yes?"

"I've been wondering this for a while," Barricade paused, as if he was trying to find the right words, "but why does Ravage have a piece of metal welded to his tail?"

Oblivious to any discussions about them, the Cassettes were hatching a plan.

"I don't think this is a good idea," said Ravage.

"Bbbut he pppromised me!" Frenzy said angrily.

"Still doesn't make this a good idea," Ravage pointed out.

"Come on Ravage, I want to do it as well," Rumble pleaded with his fellow Cassette.

"If Soundwave finds out, the slag will hit the fan – you do realise that?" Asked Ravage.

"Makes it more fun!" Buzzsaw stated happily.

Ravage sighed and laid his head on his paws in dejection.

Laserbeak stretched her wings before looking at Frenzy, "do you know the next possible date for us to carry out the plan?"

Frenzy bent over his laptop and began typing, "Lllooks like the nnnext one wwwill be nnnext mmmonth," he informed the others.

"We just got to get Barricade to agree to this," said Ratbat.

"What if he doesn't," asked Ravage.

"Well, then we threaten him with the blackmail material we got on him," Rumble replied, an evil glint in his optics.

"We need a name for this operation," Buzzsaw said.

Frenzy closed his laptop and looked up, "I'm gggoing to call it Oooperation Cccosplay!"

****

Rocket walked to her quarters slowly, her ears still ringing from her meeting with Duke.

"Hey Rocket, wait up!" Hi-Tech called out behind her.

She stopped and waited for him to catch up to her.

"So Duke finally let you out of his office?" Hi-Tech asked.

"No, I escaped while he wasn't looking," Rocket replied sarcastically and carried on walking to her destination.

"It's almost lunchtime, are you going eat in the mess with everyone else?" He asked her.

"No, I don't feel hungry and being near food will just remind me of my punishment," Rocket replied.

"He didn't order you to peel hundreds of potatoes did he?" Wondered Hi-Tech.

"Close, I have to do all the washing up," Rocket sighed, "you guys don't think you could switch to using paper plates for a while could you?"

Hi-Tech laughed but shook his head, "doing the washing up isn't that bad."

"I also have to mop all the floors of the Sea Titan for a month, and clean up after Billy the falcon," Rocket said sadly.

"At least you weren't booted out of Sigma 6," Hi-Tech pointed out.

"True that," replied Rocket as she arrived outside of her quarters.

"See you around later then," said Hi-Tech as he walked off.

Rocket watched him walk off before entering her room and collapsing on her bed with an unhappy sigh.

TBC...


	41. Deceptive Present

Tunnel Rat and Heavy Duty were walking off the 'light' lunch that they had just eaten, when they spotted a victim to mock.

"You missed a spot Rocket!"

"Oh har dee har, real funny Tunnel Rat, you do realise you sound just like a Dreadnok don't you?" Rocket swung the mop she was using at Tunnel Rat's head, who nimbly jumped out of the way laughing.

"Run HD – she's using her dreaded mop attack!" Cackling with laughter, the two of them ran off leaving Rocket alone in the corridor she was cleaning.

This was the third day of her punishment, her back ached and her hands were feeling like they wanted some tender loving care.

Rocket glared at the foot prints that the two morons had left on her freshly cleaned floor as they had run away. Dipping her mop into her bucket, she prepared to rewash the floor again.

***

22 wished that Cobra Commander wasn't so cheap and would just hire a cleaning crew or something. He could almost see the ad if Cobra Commander ever did:

"Evil terrorist organisation is holding a tender for cleaning companies. All interested parties please contact the Baroness on 0800 EVIL SNAKE."

The other Troopers near 22, stopped what they were cleaning and turned to stare at him; when he suddenly fell over laughing hysterically.

One of the Troopers nudged his cleaning partner, "I think the bleach fumes have gotten to his head!"

***

Optimus Prime glared at Wheeljack, the other mech held a sheepish look on his face.

"You got another one?" Optimus asked in deceptively calm voice.

"It's for science!" Wheeljack replied defensibly.

"Another one, even though I banned them from the base?" Optimus' voice went up a notch.

"But this time the experiment will be done in a controlled environment!" Whined Wheeljack.

"Do you not remember what happened last time?" Hissed Optimus.

"That was an accident – honest!" Wheeljack replied, beginning to pout just a little under his facemask.

"No Wheeljack, you take that powerstone straight back to Sigma 6 now! Do you understand?" Ordered Optimus angrily.

"But I want to experiment on it!" Wheeljack attempted the puppy-eyed looked he had heard about.

"No for the last time Wheeljack!" Optimus paused and gave the other mech an odd look, "is there something wrong with your optics? Maybe you should go to Ratchet and get them checked out?"

"No, I'm fine," with a defeated sigh, Wheeljack turned and left sadly like a child denied one last sweet before bed.

"And don't try to sneak another one of those things in here again!" Optimus called after him.

***

"Destro, do we currently have any powerstones in the base?" Cobra Commander asked this as he sat boredly on his throne.

"We have two locked away at the moment," replied Destro.

"Good, give one to those stupid Decepticons," ordered Cobra Commander.

"But why?" Asked Zartan, looking a bit surprised.

"Because I was thinking that it would be a good way to test the results of a explosion on them, throw them one and they are bound to blow it up in their stupidness," said Cobra Commander, "besides they want one so badly."

Machete standing to the side had a feeling that he should be remembering something important about exploding powerstones and Transformers but for the life of him he couldn't remember what exactly.

"So we are going to waste a powerstone on the likes of them?" Firefly said.

"What about the B.A.T.S in the base?" Asked Destro.

"Send them out to a safe enough distance," replied Cobra Commander.

"And if these Decepticons don't blow up the powerstone, then what?" Stormshadow asked from his dark corner.

"Don't worry about," Cobra Commander chuckled evilly, "they are most likely going to fight over the powerstone and set it off in their squabble!"

Destro and Baroness shared a glance, one that said they both had a feeling that this was going to be a bad, bad idea.

***

"Here are some more plates for you to wash!" The kitchen assistant happily smirked as he set down the pile of plates by Rocket, this was usually his job.

Rocket suppressed a groan and continued scrubbing at the dishes in the sink.

'State of the art ship and it doesn't even have a dishwasher!' She grumbled angrily to herself.

***

Destro stared into the hangar at the Decepticons, he couldn't believe that he was going to be handing over such a valuable asset just for 'an experiment'. The indignity of it – the powerstone could have been used in one of his projects to destroy the Sigmas!

Steeling himself, he walked into the hanger towards Starscream, Cobra Commander said that the best way to get them fighting over the powerstone was to give it to the one Decepticon Galvatron would hate to see holding it.

He reached Starscream and looked up, the mech in question was ignoring him and having a conversation with Thundercracker. Destro reached out one hand and poked Starscream's leg.

Starscream pretended he didn't feel it and carried on talking to Thundercracker, underterred, Destro poked his leg again – this time a bit harder. Once again Starscream ignored him. Destro decided to hit his leg instead, after three times of doing so, Starscream's head whipped round to glare at him.

"Obviously humans can't take hints, I not interested in anything you have to say. Now stop bothering me before you find yourself under my foot!" Starscream snarled at him.

"Not interested in anything? Okay then, I'll just give Galvatron this powerstone then," replied Destro and he turned towards the Decepticon leader.

"Wait! Did you say powerstone?" Starscream put one of his feet in front of Destro, blocking his path to Galvatron.

"Why yes I did," Destro smiled innocently and held up the object in question.

"I'll take that, no need to bother Galvatron with something so trivial," Starscream held out a hand to receive the powerstone.

"But you said you weren't interested," Destro protested as he walked around Starscream's foot and towards Galvatron again.

Starscream blocked Destro off again and knelt so that their faces were level with each other, "you remember that threat of being squished by my foot right? Well, that threat still stands if you don't hand over that _powerstone right this very minute_!"

Destro froze in midstep and then meekly placed the powerstone on Starscream's outstreached hand.

"Good human," purred Starscream happily.

Destro decided it was time for him to get out of the hangar and report back to Cobra Commander.

***

Optimus sat at his desk, wondering what the Decepticons were up, if they were planning any attacks. He was so tired of it all, all the fighting and the deaths, were the Decepticons tired of all the battles as well?

***

"Mine! It was given to me!" Screeched Starscream, he was currently shielding the powerstone from Galvatron's attempts to get it.

"I'm leading of the Decepticons! I don't care if it was given to you first, its mine! Now hand it over before I blast you!" Galvatron snarled as he tried to pry Starscream's hands open.

"No, I'm the scientist here, not you!" Starscream attempted to twist out of Galvatrons hold on his hands.

"Oh please! You haven't practised science in over a million years!" Snapped back Galvatron.

Watching from the sidelines were the rest of the Decepticons, the cassettes were busy setting up bets.

Barricade could only shake his head sadly as he watched the childish fight going on.

***

"See! See! I told you they would start fighting over it!" Cobra Commander grinned evilly as he watched the fight on his big screen monitor.

Machete still had a nagging feeling though, he knew it had something to do with the time Cobra was last trying to steal that robot mutt.

***

"Rocket! You didn't clean these glasses properly!" The Sea Titan's chef yelled at his less that enthusiastic helper.

Dragging her feet, Rocket moved once again to the sink to rewash the glasses.

***

Soundwave couldn't take it anymore, after raising Frenzy and Rumble, he had zero tolerence with it came to temper tantrums and pointless fighting over objects.

Moving forward, he snatched the powerstone from a distracted Starscream.

Surprised the two fighting mechs stopped to stare at him.

"If you both want it, then you both can have it!" And doing something that he did when the twins were fighting over something, he broke the object in half...

A blinding flash lit up the monitor and Cobra Commander could be heard laughing evilly.

Machete, however, wasn't laughing – he had just remembered how he saw Hot Shot acting after a powerstone explosion.

"Oh no," he covered his face with his hands, "we are all doomed!"

TBC...


	42. Decepticons Destructive Doom

Galvatron looked around himself, he and the other Decepticons seemed to have little blue sparks running all over their bodies.

'Interesting,' he thought to himself. He felt more powerful for some strange reason as well, like he could destroy the entire Autobot army by himself.

Next to him, Starscream was admiring the blue sparks running along his arm, "mighty Galvatron, I think I should rule over the Decepticons."

"Excuse me?" Galvatron glared at him.

Starscream looked at him innocently "This powerstone has clearly given me more power for a reason, and that reason is to destroy you!"

 

***

Cobra Commander glared at the whimpering Machete, curled up on the floor shivering, "doomed, what do you mean by doomed?"

"The powerstone! It's going to make them all crazy, we are going to die!" Machete wailed and curled up into even tighter ball.

"Really, and how do you know this is going to happen?" Asked Cobra Commander, sounding interested.

"We saw it before, us Dreadnoks. It happened to one of those Autobots!" Machete said, barely audible from his position, "the Autobot went all crazy, thought he was a ninja or something!"

Cobra Commander was about to give a scathing reply when he was interrupted by a trooper bursting into the throne room.

"Cobra Commander! It's horrible, they're tearing the place apart – they are going to kill us all!" The trooper sounded very hysterical.

"Who is going to kill us all?" Demanded Cobra Commander.

"The Decepticons! They're gone crazy!" The trooper replied before fleeing in terror.

"Told you," Machete called out, "we are all doomed!"

***

"I'm the best!" Starscream screeched as he threw Frenzy at Galvatron's face.

"The day you rule is the day Prime starts killing humans for fun!" Galvatron swatted Frenzy away from his face and chucked a jeep, that was just lying around innocently, at Starscream.

"Missed me!" Taunted Starscream and charged Galvatron.

All over the hanger, different Decepticons were involved in some fight or another.

The Cassetticons were jumping all over Barricade, when they weren't being used as ammo by Galvatron and Starscream, demanding to be taken to a anime conference. Barricade was trying his best to swat them off, but they were worse than flies attracted to honey.

Thundercracker and Skywarp for some odd reason were trying to tear Blackout's rotors off his back, while screeching something about getting rid of wannabe seekers.

Soundwave had taken to throwing various objects around, whether the object was B.A.T, trooper or more innocent jeeps, it was thrown regardless.

Devastator was dodging everything going on around him as he chased 22 around the hanger, wanting to know how much a human can take being squeezed before they 'popped'. 22 of course was not going to stand around and let him find out. He was only in the hanger because it was his turn to clean it, he didn't expect to walk into bedlam.

"Stand still and let me kill you!" Galvatron had taken to shooting at Starscream and Starscream was flying around the hanger giggling for no reason.

***

A boom reverberated around the base, and some dust drifted down from the ceiling.

"Destro," Cobra Commander said as the base was shaken by another explosion.

"Yes sir?" Asked Destro, wiping some dust off his sleeve.

"Remind to build a bomb shelter into the base later," Cobra Commander watched as a piece of concrete from the ceiling fell to the floor.

"I think that sounds like a good idea sir," Destro replied, watching as more debris piled up around them, "though I think the better idea would to evacuate now at the moment – rather than discuss building plans!"

Cobra Commander stood up with a swish of his cape, "Very well, sound the evacuation alarm!"

***

Standing outside, Cobra Commander watched as his base fell down around battling Decepticons. It wasn't the best base, or his only base, but it did cost money to build – he was not a very happy evil leader at the moment.

"Sir," Destro saw the angry look on Cobra Commander's face and paused for a few seconds, "what do you intend to do?"

Grinding his teeth angrily behind his mask, Cobra Commander surveyed his troops standing around holding various bits of equipment they grabbed as they evacuated, "we are going to our 24th base, and then we are going to come up with a plan on how to dismantle Decepticons – painfully!"

TBC...


	43. This Is Not An Energon Hangover

Pain, just pain, was all Galvatron could feel as his optics slowly powered on. All around him, he could hear the muttered groans of pain from his fellow Decepticons as they woke up.

'What the frag happened?' He thought to himself as he slowly sat up and surveyed his surroundings.

He remembered the last place he had been was inside the Cobra hanger, and certainly the concrete floor under him proved that memory correct, but the problem was that there were no walls. There should have been three left standing and a bit of roof after that visit from the Autobots, but now there was nothing... just some wreckage lying about the wilderness that surrounded the Decepticons.

"Where are my Cassetticons?" Soundwave's voice broke over the chorus of moans, sounding a little anxious for his usual tone.

"Who cares about your Cassetticons! Why are Thundercracker and Skywarp holding my rotors?" Shrieked Blackout in horror, "my back fragging hurts!"

The two Seekers in question looked at the rotors they were holding with shocked, they were using them as Transformer sized walking sticks to hold themselves up.

"That's what these are?" Skywarp asked, "I don't know, I just woke up while hugging them"

"Hugging them? _Hugging them_?" Blackout sounded near hysterical, "they should be on my back, they are not detachable for hugging!"

"Missing Cassetticons are a higher priority," Soundwave interjected as Blackout was about to pounce onto the two Seekers.

"If I had my rotors attached to me, I could fly out and search for them, but no, I don't have my rotors so to me – this is a higher priority!" Snapped Blackout.

"Will all of you just shut up!" Galvatron sat up from where he was lying and fixed the arguing Decepticons with an evil glare, "the first thing we need to do is figure out what happened last night!"

Slowly standing, Galvatron looked around the remains of the hanger at his fellow Decepticons. Barricade was lying in one corner, covered in tiny scratches that looked suspiciously like they could have been made by Cassetticon claws, he was groaning with one hand covering his optics looking like he was recovering from an overdose of Energon. Starscream was in flight form, with his nose cone sticking out of the dirt looking like a shot down plane, Galvatron didn't waste any time looking over him to see if he was badly damaged. Devastator was sitting up on some rubble staring confused at something clutched in his hand, he didn't look like he needed any attention so Galvatron focused finally on the four Decepticons standing in the middle of the ruined hanger. Skywarp and Thundercracker were standing off to one side while leaning on Blackout's rotors, said mech and Soundwave were having a glaring competition with each other. Like Soundwave had stated earlier, there were no Cassetticons in sight, unless they had been buried somewhere in the rubble.

Galvatron gave a sigh, "Skywarp, Thundercracker; go pull Starscream out of the dirt and make him re-attach Blackout's rotors." He watched them shuffle off to do his orders and turned to Barricade, "you, go help Soundwave search for his Cassetticons."

With a groan, Barricade slowly got up and followed Soundwave as he made his way out of the ruins. Soundwave must have picked up a signal as he didn't hesitate heading off on a direction, leaving Barricade to catch up with him.

Now all he, Galvatron, had to do was find Cobra Commander and demand an explanation for why he and his Decepticons had woken up amidst a pile of rubble. Trying to not show off any shakiness, Galvatron headed towards the entrance where he usually would go to find the throne room. However, reaching there, he found it blocked by more rubble.

"Devastator! Get here and clear this so I can go scream at humans!" Galvatron barked at Devastator who was still sitting staring at his hand.

"Uh, sure," Devastator came over to look at the damage, still keeping whatever it was clutched in his hand.

Peering at the rubble a bit and poking it a little, Devastator turned to look back at Galvatron nervously, "you're not going to like this, but it seems like the entire subterranean base has caved in. Even if I cleared this up, there will be no humans left to scream at sir."

"What?" Snarled Galvatron, "what the frag happened last night?"

"If I may," Starscream sidled up, having finished with his work on Blackout and still covered a little with dirt, "I do seem to recall a fight over a powerstone, which was rightfully mine."

Galvatron glared back at the Seeker, a little flash of memory appearing to him now after Starscream's words.

"You mean the powerstone that you refused to hand over to me, the rightful Decepticon leader," he growled at Starsceam.

"Yes, yes, minor details," Starscream brushed off, "but I think Soundwave was the one responsible for making it explode. Didn't those stupid humans say that a powerstone explosion would have an adverse reaction to us?"

"Yes they did, are you saying that is the reason why we woke up in a ruin of our hanger?" Questioned Megatron.

"I'm saying more than that, dear leader, I'm saying that we were deliberately set up by those humans. Why else would they give something like that to me, knowing you and I would fight over it causing an explosion?" Starscream kicked a piece of the rubble as he said this.

Galvatron glared harder at Starscream, not wanting to admit what the Seeker had just said sounded a logical explanation to him.

"Your theory just makes me want to find a human even more now Starscream," Galvatron said, "it's a pity to think that they might all be dead down there, unable to answer for their actions.

Devastator gave a guilty sort of shuffle, before holding up his clenched hand, "um, I woke up holding this."

Galvatron and Starscream turned to look at his hand, which slowly opened up to reveal a scared looking 22.

***

Cobra Commander looked around himself, Base 43's throne room was not as impressive as the last base's throne room. One of the reasons he rarely used Base 43, but it was the closest one and beggars can't be choosers. Not when your entire base is falling down around your ears due to a slight miscalculation involving Decepticons and powerstones.

He was interrupted from his musings by Destro entering the throne room, a sheet of paper in his hand.

"Cobra Commander, I've brought the personnel report regarding the evacuation," Destro waved the paper in his hand.

"Well, get on with it," screeched Cobra Commader, he was still in a somewhat bad mood regarding the previous night's evacuation and didn't have much time for small talk.

"After we arrived, the Troopers held a roster according to squads. I'm pleased to report only one Trooper is missing, and only a few have minor injuries. The rest have already started cleaning up all the dust and cobwebs lying around this base." Destro looked up from his report.

"One missing?" Cobra Commander mused, "Is it a big enough loss to recruit a new one, or can the remaining ones carry out cleaning duties without any problems?"

"There should be no problems, we also save on costs with one less Trooper to feed and pay." Destro replied.

"Pay? You mean we actually pay the henchmen?" Cobra Commander sounded shocked by this news.

"Of course we pay them," Destro on his account, sounded shocked that Cobra Commander had even asked, "if we didn't pay them, they wouldn't stick around to get beaten by Joes for no reason!"

"Ah yes, I suppose that is true," Cobra Commander leaned back, "I don't suppose they would accept a decrease in wages for being so pathetic when they do fight the enemy?"

"No, Cobra Commander, no," sighed Destro.

***

"So, Optimus said I was to return it and not keep any more at the base," a sad looking Wheeljack said as he handed a powerstone over to Hi-tech.

Hi-tech took the powerstone from him, and felt a bit sorry for Wheeljack as he looked a bit like a scolded puppy.

"Are you sure?" Hi-tech asked, holding the powerstone, "I'm sure you guys could come up with a few good ideas of how to use powerstones."

"I'm sure, and I'm also sure the rest of the Autobots would weld me to a wall if they caught me again with one," Wheeljack sighed.

"Hmm, how about this instead," Hi-tech glanced around conspiratory before speaking again, "I have this, let's call it a secret lab, where I work on some projects that Duke might frown on. I'll let you have the run of it if you want to study powerstones there? So long as you keep it our little secret"

Wheeljack glanced around for eavesdroppers as well, before holding out a digit to shake with Hi-tech's hand.

'This is either going to be wonderful, or backfire horribly,' Hi-tech thought to himself.

***

"Where are we?" Rumble asked as he crawled out a Rumble shaped crater.

"Beats me," answered Buzzsaw, as he too crept out of a Buzzsaw shaped crater.

"I want to know what happened?" Ravage said, trying to pull the metal attached to his tail out of his crater, it was hooked onto something and wasn't going to get loose easily.

The Cassetticons were scattered around, crawling out of various craters and confused like slag over everything that happened the previous night.

"My lllaptop is mmmissing!" Shrieked Frenzy, horrified.

"Laserbeak, fly up and see if you can see any landmarks," Ravage said, ignoring Frenzy crying over his missing laptop.

"Why me?" Questioned Laserbeak, "Why not Ratbat? I'm always the one who has to go flying around!"

"Stop sulking and just go do it," Ravage growled, not wanting to deal with sibling fights.

"Fine," Laserbeak swooped up, "but I'm telling on you when we find Soundwave!"

"Tell on me about what?" Ravage muttered, as he went back to concentrating on getting his tail free from the hole.

***

"Here's some laundry for you to do!"

Rocket gave a little sob as the mountain of laundry before her grew some more.

TBC...


End file.
